Turnabout Hearts: Rebellious Healing
by EmeraldWings1992
Summary: BK - 3.5 With Aurora still a new Healing, Yen Sid finds a world where she can practice while Sora does his own training in Olympus. However, this world has it's own dangers, such as desires so twisted, they can distort the hearts of men. Aurora finds herself pulled into the struggles of the Phantom Thieves as danger stalks her, even here. A Kingdom Hearts xover. ON HOLD.
1. A New Mission

**A/N:** Sup guys! Long time, no see! Sorry for the hiatus. I got SUPER busy.

So. The deal with this. I played _Persona 5_ , and FELL IN LOVE and saw a GREAT opportunity to put Aurora in it. Plus, I had a few reviewers asking for this cross over.

So I planned it all out and stuff…. And then realized how ambitious a project this was, and how busy I've been, and decided against it.

BUT THEN THE ANIME CAME OUT, MAKING IT SO MUCH EASIER TO DO THIS.

So. Here you go, lol. Any dialogue in bold is **English** , by the way.

So, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One: A New Mission

Aurora yawned, folding her arms behind her head and resting back in her seat. Sora sat at the controls of the Gummi Ship, a yawn forcing itself out of his mouth seconds after Aurora's.

"Stop that. Yawning is conta~gious…" Donald complained, a yawn interrupting him as well. Aurora couldn't help but giggle as Goofy yawned as well.

The four had been flying through the Lanes Between for hours now, even after going through the portal that had opened once Sora had allowed his heart to guide him.

"Gawrsh, that portal really didn't drop us off close, did it?" Goofy asked. Donald, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes at the back of the brunet's head, crossing his arms.

"I bet we're lost," he suddenly said.

"We are _not_!" Sora denied, a little too quickly.

"We're definitely lost," Aurora sighed, dropping her arms to her sides and slumping.

"Look, do one of you guys want to drive?" Sora demanded, looking over his shoulder at the three of them.

"Actually—" Donald began.

"Forget it," Sora immediately cut him off. Aurora giggled.

"Is it always like this?" she asked, glancing over at Goofy, who was shaking his head at the two of them.

"Yeah," the dog sighed. Aurora snickered, shaking her head, when suddenly, her side bag grew warm where it was resting on her lap.

"Hm?" Aurora hummed, opening it, only to find the book Master Yen Sid have given her glowing faintly. "Already?" she murmured, pulling the book out and flipping through it. On the first page was a message from the master sorcerer.

 _Aurora,_

 _I have devised a way in which to train you with your Healer abilities. Below is a spell that will allow you to teleport back to the Tower. Please come quickly._

 _Yen Sid_

Aurora glanced down to see the spell, studying it a few times, before looking up at the others.

"So, uh… Master Yen Sid wants me back at the Tower," Aurora said.

" _What!?_ But we just left!" Donald yelped. Aurora shrugged, standing.

"It can't be helped," she said, walking over to Sora. "He gave me a spell to teleport there, so I guess you three should just continue forward, onto Olympus Coliseum," she said.

"Aww. So much for you having an adventure with us," Sora pouted. Aurora giggled.

"Don't worry, Sky Boy. He said he figured out how to train my Healer abilities, so I doubt it'll take up too much time. Here—" She pulled the Crescent Moon amulet over her head, pressing it into Sora's hand. "Take this with you. It'll let Master Yen Sid track you much easier, so… well, so we don't have a repeat of last time," she said. Sora's eyes hardened slightly, and his grip on the amulet was just a little too tight, but he grinned.

"Great. Good luck, Aurora. And you'd better hurry back!" he said brightly, though Aurora could tell it was a little forced. Aurora shook her head slightly, but smiled warmly at the boy ruffling his spikes.

"I will. Save some Heartless for me, will you?"

"No promises," Sora said with a grin. Aurora nodded, and used the spell Yen Sid had sent her. In a puff of white smoke, Aurora disappeared from the Gummi Ship.

…

"I'm here, Master," Aurora said, bowing to the sorcerer, who sat at his desk, in his study. Yen Sid smiled warmly with a nod.

"I see. It seems you have a knack for picking up spells quickly," he praised, before noticing the lack of the moon pendant. Aurora noticed the question in his eyes, and answered before he asked.

"I left it with Sora. I figured you'd want to track those three over myself, considering how Sora's Mark of Mastery ended…" she admitted, not mentioning the fact that she'd like the sorcerer to keep an eye on him as well. Yen Sid nodded once more.

"Very wise, Aurora. Now, down to business. I have discovered a way in which to train you with your Healer abilities, though I will personally not be able to do it," he explained.

"Oh… okay?" Aurora said. Yen Sid leaned back in his chair.

"There is a world, very much like your Legal Age, but different in one important aspect. The make-up of the Hearts," Yen Sid explained.

"That's… possible?" Aurora gasped in shock. Despite being to many different worlds, the general form of the heart, as Aurora sensed it, has always been the same. So this…

"Yes. And it'll be in this world that you will train your Healer abilities. Fortunately, Heartless are unable to appear in that world, due to the hearts, so it'll be safe," Yen Sid said, standing and walking over to one of the windows. "As I said, this world if very similar to your own. There is an America, as well as many other countries. The specific place I will be sending you within this world will be Tokyo, Japan," Yen Sid explained.

…

 _You will be a Foreign Exchange Student from America, staying with a gentleman by the name of Sojiro Sakura,_ Yen Sid had told Aurora as she prepared to leave. Now, she sat on a train that was on its way to one of the biggest areas in Japan. With a sigh, she glanced down at the outfit she now wore.

Because her cloak would have made her stand out, Yen Sid and provided her with other outfits.

It was winter here, so she wore a long sleeved black shirt, the sleeves almost covering her hands completely, with white lines going down the sides. Over that was a short sleeved, green hoodie with white lining, unzipped in the front, with four game pins attached to the left breast, just under her Attorney's badge. She also wore a pair of faded denim jeans, and black ankle boots under that. Her ever present locket was around her neck, and the pink ribbon was around her right wrist under her sleeve. She left her hair down, too. The rest of her outfits, which included both a winter and summer school uniform, was packed in a trunk that took up the seat next to her.

 _You will be a third year, attending Shujin Academy. I know you have already graduated from Themis, but this cannot be helped._

 _(Thanks, Master Yen Sid.)_ Aurora thought with a sigh. _(Why do I always seem to go to worlds where I have to attend schools?)_ she wondered idly, glancing out the window. _(And I still don't understand the whole time thing…)_

 _It will feel like a year on the world I send you too, due to the way time moves on that world, but in reality, it shouldn't be too much longer then Sora's training in Olympus Coliseum._

 _(I wonder if that means I'll age, but the others won't? Hopefully not…)_ She glanced around as the train gently rocked on the tracks, glancing down at her phone. _(Today is Saturday. Guess that means I won't have to worry about school for my first two days,)_ she thought with a smile.

" _Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines,"_ a smooth, female voice said over the speaker. Aurora glanced up, before shaking her head. _(That was in Japanese, and I understood it perfectly. I love magic,)_ she thought with a grin, standing and gripping her trunk. " _The doors to your left are open."_

Aurora joined the rush disembarking the train, looking around in an attempt to figure out where she should go next. She was completely disoriented, between the sheer amount of people, the size of the city, and how… _different_ the hearts around her felt. Yen Sid was right, the hearts here were different. She didn't feel them as temperatures, but – and there was no other way to explain it—how _distorted…_ or _twisted_ each heart felt.

It was confusing.

"What? Are you for real? A mental shutdown?" a few girls behind Aurora chattered. Aurora glanced curiously behind at the girls, but it was a boy behind them that caught her attention.

He had dark hair that fell into his face, and wore a pair of glasses. What caught Aurora's attention, though was the fact that he wore the male's version of the uniform from Shujin Academy.

"It's the truth!" the second girl said, while Aurora debated on asking the boy for directions. He met her eye though, and Aurora quickly turned away.

 _(He… doesn't seem like he wants to be bothered…)_ she decided, trying to remember the way to the Sakura residence, trying to ignore the girls behind her as they talked about the occult stuff.

Scramble Crossing, a large square in the middle of Shibuya, was even more disorienting than the train station. Aurora muttered apologies as she weaved her way through the people, trying to figure out where she needed to go, when suddenly, everything seemed to slow to a stop, almost like someone had cast a _Stop_ spell on the crowd. She quickly looked around – _(Master Yen Sid said it would be safe, but what's going on?)_ – only to feel one heart in the crowd surge with power, causing Aurora to stagger.

Almost as soon as it happened, it was over. People were moving around her again, and that powerful surge… was gone.

" **Wha…? What was that**?" she muttered to herself, before shaking her head and pulling out her phone. _(Now's not the time. Maybe I can use the nav app on here…)_ she thought to herself, pulling a slip of paper from her pocket, one that had Sakura's address on it. She punched it into the app, only to roll her eyes when it told her to get on another train.

" **Fun…** " she muttered.

…

Soon, Aurora found herself standing in a small, alleyway like area. It was too narrow for cars, but there were still stores and shops lining the walls on either side of her. Aurora glanced around with a small frown, before looking down at her phone, the nav app still open.

 _(This way, I guess…_ ) she thought to herself, following it through the backstreets, to a small house.

" **Finally,** " she muttered to herself, stepping up to the gate and ringing the doorbell. There was no answer.

"Huh?" a voice suddenly muttered from behind her. She turned to find the boy from earlier, the one wearing the school uniform with glasses, standing at the corner. He walked a little closer.

"Is this Sojiro Sakura's house?" he asked, and again, Aurora was happy to understand Japanese.

"Um, Yes. But I don't think anyone's home," she answered, inwardly cringing. She could tell her Japanese was nowhere near perfect – she spoke it with a strong American accent. _(Dang it, Master Yen Sid! Why'd that spell have to make Japanese my SECOND language…)_ The boy tipped his head slightly to the side, hearing it as well. Thankfully, he didn't comment on it.

"Figures," he muttered, adjusting the strap of a bag on his shoulder and glancing around, wondering what to do now. Just then, both noticed a delivery guy nearby, who was muttering to himself.

"Looks like no one's home… Oh yeah! Sakura-san's usually at his café around this time. Well, Leblanc's in the back alley, so I should make my other deliveries first… Mmm, next I need to take this package to…" he trailed off, his mumbling growing quieter and incoherent.

"I guess we should head to Leblanc, if we're both looking for Mr. Sakura," Aurora said, turning to the boy, who nodded. "I'm Aurora Wright, by the way. You?"

"Ren Amamiya," the boy said. "It's nice to meet you, Wright-san."

Aurora cringed at the honorific. "Likewise, um, Amamiya-san. But… please, just call me Aurora," she requested as the two of them made their way to the café. The boy smiled.

"Then just call me Ren," he suggested. "Unsure of the honorifics?" he asked. Aurora laughed at herself.

"That obvious?"

"A little."

Aurora smiled at him, shaking her head at herself as the two of them entered the small café.

Inside was very cozy, and Aurora was thrilled to smell freshly brewed coffee. There were three booths to the left of the small space, with an old couple sitting in the middle one, while a man in an apron, reading a newspaper, leaned against the bar.

In the corner of the café was a tv, which had the news showing.

" _A public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it!"_ the anchor was saying. Aurora's eyes widened at that. " _The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up."_

 _(Sounds like this wasn't the first incident…)_ Aurora thought with slight horror.

The couple at the table talked about it, mentioning an incident happening a few days earlier, and confirming Aurora's thoughts.

Meanwhile, the man at the bar was muttering to himself about what sounded like a crossword puzzle. Aurora stamped down the urge to provide him the answer. Ren shifted his weight, and the man looked up, seeming to notice the two of them for the first time.

"…Oh, right. Seems like the two of you already met," he muttered, before tossing his paper back, onto the bar, and standing. "They did say that was today."

"We'll be going now. The payment's on the table," the old man said as the couple stood. The man turned to them.

"Thanks for coming," he said.

"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here," the old man said with a smile.

"A what now?" the man asked in confusion, obviously having not paid attention to the news.

"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that none happen around here," the old man said, shaking his head at the thought.

"It's none of my concern," the man in the apron said, his eyes darting over to where Ren and Aurora stood. Aurora got the feeling the two of them _were_ his concern…

The old man laughed. "Well, we'll see you next time." And with that, the two of them shambled out of the shop. Aurora and Ren stood aside to let them pass.

Suddenly, the man in the apron let out an exasperated sigh. "…Four hours for just a single cup of joe," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He then turned his attention on the two teens. "So, you're Ren and Aurora?" he asked, looking between the two. They both nodded.

"Yes," Aurora said with a smile.

"Is Sakura-san here?" Ren asked politely.

"…Yeah," the man sighed. "I'm Sojiro Sakura. You two will be in my custody over the next year. "I was wondering what kind of unruly kid and American girl would show up, but you two are the ones, huh?" he asked.

 _(Oh, don't tell me… please don't tell me they have stereotypes of American's here…)_ Aurora thought with a small frown, but she nodded all the same. Seeming satisfied, Sakura turned to look at Ren with a stern frown.

"Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other, and—" he cut himself off, shaking his head. "Well, not that that matters. Follow me, you two," he said, turning towards the stairs that were in the back of the café. Aurora glanced up a Ren curiously, but he seemed to be avoiding her gaze.

Sakura led them into an attic that was full of junk and dusty. Aurora sneezed, and Sakura glanced over at her. "Bless you."

"Thanks," she muttered, rubbing her nose. In one corner of the room was a bed with a pillow and comforter. Against the wall, situated between a desk and a table, was a second bed, partially hidden behind a divider.

"This is your twos' room," Sakura said. He glanced at Aurora. "Don't really have a second attic to separate you two, but that divider should work, so long as someone keeps to himself," he added with a stern look at Ren, who held his hands up in defense.

"Can't give you much, but I at least will give you two bedsheets," Sakura said. Aurora, meanwhile, was looking around. Besides the two beds and divider, there were two bookshelves, and both were a completely overflowing. A desk, covered in dust and books, was in the corner, at the head of Aurora's bed, and an empty table was at the foot of it. Next to one of the bookshelves, on the wall across from Aurora's bed, was a pile of clutter.

A cardboard box stood in the middle of the room. Ren glanced at it, frowning slightly, before focusing on Sakura again.

"You two can clean up everything else." He glanced at those two, with pity for Aurora, and disapproval for Ren. "I heard about what happened, with both of you." His eyes rested on Ren as he pulled a book from one of the bookshelves. "Inflicting bodily injury, huh? I guess you can't judge a book by its cover."

Aurora quickly looked at Ren, who had gasped softly.

"You have the wrong idea. I just~"

"I don't wanna hear it," Sakura said. "I won't ask you about it either. Just don't get me involved." He quickly looked back. "Or Aurora. She's gone through a lot herself, and has her own reasons for coming here."

 _(I do? Master Yen Sid…. What exactly did you tell him?)_ Aurora thought, putting a hand in her bag, on the book that was her connection to the sorcerer. _(Guess I'll ask when I settle down for the night…)_

Sakura had continued to talk to Ren while Aurora zoned out. She tuned back in to hear "Don't talk about any of this up front, though. I am running a business here. Behave yourself for the next year. If nothing happens, you'll be off probation."

Ren's eyes widened a little, and he looked up at Sakura.

"Wait, probation?" Aurora asked, and both turned to look at her. Ren looked almost weary, like he was expecting her to be scared. Instead, she was just curious.

"Just the time he has to live here, under my supervision. It's only until next spring," he explained, before looking at Aurora. "As for you… just keep your head down, and always stay with someone, even a trouble maker like this one. Nothing bad will happen to you here. And I promised I'd take you in for as long as the investigation takes," he said, softening as he looked at her. She gave him a weak smile, and nodded.

"Right. Thank you," she said. _(Investigation?)_

"We're going to Shujin tomorrow. Shujin Academy. We'll introduce you two to your teachers. They don't get many newcomers. And two at the same time is even more odd," he said, heading towards the stairs downstairs.

"Okay," Ren said, still seeming bothered. Aurora nodded, watching Sakura pass. The old man hesitated, glancing between the two of them, before starting down the steps.

"I head home after I close the café. You two will be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid."

"Um, Mr. Sakura?" Aurora asked, causing the man to pause, and glance back at her.

"Hm?"

"Are we… allowed to make ourselves coffee when the shop is closed?" she asked. Sakura smiled at her.

"Not until I teach you how. Besides, you shouldn't be drinking it this late, anyway," he said, before heading down the steps again. A few minutes later, they heard the door close and lock. Then they looked at each other.

"We should probably clean up," Aurora said. Ren nodded. The two got to work, at least clearing out the dust, before Aurora went downstairs, to the bathroom. She changed into her oversized Themis sweatshirt and a pair of shorts, and brushed her teeth. Ren was already changed into a black long-sleeved shirt and tan pj pants, laying back on his bed.

"'Oyster,' is it?" he muttered to himself, looking up into a magazine. Aurora smiled, noticing the crossword puzzle on the pages, as she laid down on her own bed, pulling out her book. She flipped open to an open page, and pulled out a pen.

 _Master Yen Sid,_

 _I have made it here safe, and found Soijiro Sakura. He seems nice, but a little rough around the edges. There is another kid staying here, too, but I think he's a year younger then me._

 _I did have a question, though. Mr. Sakura acted as though I transferred here for my safety, until an investigation is over? What could he mean?_

She didn't have to wait long for a response to appear on the pages.

 _Aurora,_

 _I am glad you made it there safe, and it sounds like you can make friends easily. I told him the story you had used when you first returned home after your first disappearance; you were kidnapped by a cult that had kidnapped and killed your brother. You had managed to escape and go to the police, who decided to have you transfer to Japan. The cult is still after you. I hope this is alright?_

Aurora blinked, before shaking her head with a smile. _(Not far from the truth, honestly. Xehanort IS basically creating a cult around creating the X-Blade and starting the next war. Thankfully, he DIDN'T kill my brother…)_ she thought with a small smile.

 _Master Yen Sid,_

 _That is fine. I just wanted to make sure, so I knew how to react. It is late, and I'm tired. I'll update you tomorrow._

She closed the book and slipped both that and the pen back in her bag, before setting the bag on the floor next to her. She then glanced over at Ren.

The boy was passed out, his phone on his chest, the book next to him. His blanket was still bunched up against the wall. She giggled softly and got up, plugging his phone in for him and moving the book. She then shut off the light and climbed back into her own bed, setting the alarm on her phone so that she would get up early. She had a feeling tomorrow would be a _long_ day.


	2. The Shujin Castle?

Chapter Two: The Shujin… Castle?

Aurora woke up the next morning before Ren, and worked on cleaning the room up a bit more. She moved his cardboard box onto one of the shelves, and was sweeping up a bit, when Ren sat up, blinking blearily.

"Morning," she said brightly. The boy turned to look at her with a slight grimace.

"Morning…" he muttered. She glanced at him as he grabbed his phone, dragging something across the screen.

"You okay?" she asked. He just kind of shrugged.

"Yeah, just… a dream," he muttered, before getting up and grabbing his clothes to change into, heading down to the bathroom. She shrugged, grabbing her own Shujin uniform, and changing.

Yen Sid had said she could edit her uniform slightly, as long as she still wore the blazer and skirt. So, she put on a green hoodie under the blazer, along with some game pins from her favorite old JRPGs, her attorney badge, and black leggings under the plaid skirt. She reached up, checking that the choker was still there, and zipped on her heeled, ankle high boots. She was running a brush through her hair when Ren came back upstairs, dressed in the uniform. She was actually surprised to see he was wearing the standard uniform, unchanged, but didn't comment on it.

"Ready to go?" Sakura asked, poking his head upstairs.

" **Yep** ," Aurora said, as Ren nodded, and the two of them followed him downstairs, and to his car.

"Do me a favor and don't misbehave. It's just a quick meeting today," he said, looking specifically at Ren, as he parked in front of the school. Because it was a Sunday, there weren't any students there. The teachers were another matter entirely.

The three of them were quickly shown to the principle's office, where the big man – quite literally – sat behind his desk, a young woman to his left, an older gentleman to his right. The woman looked exasperated, while the man simply looked bored.

They first introduced themselves, before the principle got right down to business, looking at both of them.

"You'll be expelled immediately if you cause any problems here. To be honest, I hesitated on accepting either of you, given your stories. But there were certain things to consider," he sighed. Aurora, meanwhile, was staring at the man.

 _(He looks… like a frog. And I thought we had some weird ones back home…_ ) It took all of her will power not to smile at her thought.

"I'm Kawakami, your homeroom teacher," the woman said to Ren. "Here's your student ID." She handed him a badge, which he glanced at, before pocketing.

"And I'm Daremo," the man said, holding out a student ID for Aurora. "Your homeroom teacher."

"When you come tomorrow, you both are to report to the faulty room first. Your teachers will be there to show you to class," the Principle said.

"Yes, sir," they both said.

"Sakura-san, please keep an eye on both of them. See that they don't get into trouble outside of school."

Sakura nodded, placing his hat back on his head. "Sure. Come on, you two," he said, leading them back to the car.

The ride back was very long, due to a subway accident, but uneventful. Aurora busied herself with scrolling around online on her phone, while Sakura warned Ren to keep out of trouble, once again.

The next morning was Monday, which meant Aurora and Ren were up early, in uniform again, and out the door, this time taking the subways. Both were a little confused on how to get to the school, but managed to get to the right station with time to spare.

Unfortunately, it had started raining while they were underground, and neither bought an umbrella.

"Now what?" Aurora asked, pulling up her hood and looking up as the two of them took shelter under an awning. Ren shook his head, looking at the navigation app on his phone.

"I'm not sure…" he admitted, before frowning. "Hm?"

"What?" she asked. He started to answer, but cut off as a girl darted over, hiding under their awning as well. She pulled her own hood off, which was now wet, to reveal blond pigtails. Ren continued to stare as the girl brushed water off of herself, forgetting about his phone.

Finally, she looked up at him, and blinked. "There's…" She hesitated, before reaching up and pulling a cherry blossom petal from his hair. "I hate this rain. It scatters the pretty blossoms everywhere," she complained.

Just then, there was a car horn. At the same time, Aurora staggered. It felt like something was twisting around her, like reality had become distorted. Her stomach rolled with nausea, and she had to grip the wall.

"You're gonna be late!" the man in the car called, and Aurora was able to pinpoint him as the center of the distortion. She closed her eyes, and gasped softly. Before her eyes flashed the man in a shimmery king cloak, with a crown on his head, and glowing yellow eyes. He was standing in front of what looked like a castle. Her eyes flew open. "Takamaki, want a lift?"

"Sure. Thank you," the girl said, dropping the flower petal and jogging over to get in the man's car.

"Oh, and you two?" he asked, his eyes roaming over Aurora. She shuddered at that, her creep alert senses mixing strongly with the distortion she feels from him. She gripped Ren's sleeve tightly. Ren glanced between her, and the man, and shook his head.

"No, thank you," he said.

"You sure? Well, then…" his eyes roamed over Aurora once more, before noticing someone else, a small frown crossing his face. Both Ren and Aurora glanced over to see a boy with blond hair walking towards them, a yellow shirt under his blazer. The man then pulled off, with Takamaki in the car, and Aurora was able to breath again as the distortion faded.

"That bastard, Kamoshida…" the blond haired boy snarled.

"Kamoshida?" Ren asked, turning to the boy, his phone still out.

"That was Kamoshida in the car, right? Thinks he can do whatever he wants…" The boy scowled deeper. "Who does he think he is, the king of a castle? Don't you agree?" he demanded, looking at Aurora and Ren.

"Hah, funny you should say that," Aurora said softly, thinking the the glimpse she saw. ( _Is that how I view hearts here…?_ ) she wondered. She hesitated, before closing her eyes. Ren glanced at her, his eyes glowing yellow in her vision, but otherwise unchanged.

Her eyes snapped open, and she shook her head, reminded only too strongly of the Xehanort situation.

"What's with you two? Neither of you are being very talkative," the boy said. "You go to Shujin, right?"

"You mean Shujin Academy?" Ren asked. The blond glanced down, looking at the badges that said what classes they were in.

"A third-year," he noted of Aurora, before looking at Ren. And a second-year… same as me?" He looked between the two of them. "Haven't seen you before. What class are you in?"

"I don't know yet," Ren admitted.

"We're kind of new," Aurora added with a weak smile.

"Oh! You're the two new transfer students!" the blond said. Aurora and Ren glanced at each other, surprised that he already knew, but nodded all the same.

"Then you wouldn't know. But… Hm. So it's actually you two," he grinned studying them.

"What do you mean by that?" Ren asked, stepping back slightly as the blond invaded his personal space. The blond went to answer, but glanced down at his phone.

"Crap! This late already?" he gasped. He then looked up at the two. "It ain't raining hard. You're gonna be late," he warned, starting towards the school. Aurora bit her lip.

"Right…" she said as the two of them started to follow him. Suddenly reality seemed to shift, and the slight distortions Aurora had been feeling all around them… was gone.

"Huh?" she asked, looking around. The other two continued like they didn't notice anything, and she shrugged, jogging to catch up with them.

They cut through an allyway, walking fast, before suddenly stopping at the ally exit.

In front of them was a large castle. Aurora gasped, eyes wide. It was the same as the one in her vision.

" **What's going on…?"** she asked faintly.

"What the hell? Where'd the school go?" the blond demanded.

"Don't ask me," Ren replied.

" **It's a castle… an honest to god castle…"** Aurora said. _(And a perfect match to the one from my vision…)_

"We didn't make a wrong turn, did we? What's going on?" the blond asked, looking back the way they came. He then shook his head, looking at the two of them. "Well, what're you waiting for? Come on, let's go."

"Inside?" Aurora demanded. "That's a very bad idea. We have no clue what's in there."

"We'll just have to go in and ask," the blond replied with a shrug, leading the two of them in.

They walked into a huge entrance hall.

"The hell…?" the blond asked. Aurora suddenly shuddered, head snapping up. A chill stole over her – the same that she usually sensed from Heartless. She automatically reached for her left wrist to activate her shield, before stopping, realizing it was no longer there.

Yen Sid had told her to leave her shield at the tower. There were no Heartless in this world.

She looked in the direction the feeling was coming from, only to spot a man in a suit of armor walking towards them.

"Who're you? This some kind of prank?" the blond boy asked, walking over.

"Hey, wait! He's dangerous!" Aurora called, going to grab the boy's arm, but missing.

"Oh calm down. It's fine," he said over his shoulder to her, before looking at the knight again. "Hey, don't ignore me. Explain."

Aurora spun around, sensing another from behind, and biting her lip. _(This is bad…_ )

"H-hey, what the hell?" the blond demanded as the first knight took a step towards them. "Maybe you were right… let's get outta here!"

He started running towards one of the doors, Ren and Aurora right on his heels. She gasped, sensing another one right behind it, but didn't yell her warning fast enough before the door opened, and the Knight slammed his large, kite shield into the blond's face, sending him reeling backwards.

"Hey!" Ren called, running over to him. Aurora looked around as the Knights closed in on them, and frowned, looking back at Ren.

"I'm going to go find help," she said, before running towards one of the Knights.

"Aurora, wait!" Ren called as the Knight raised his shield to slam her back. She dropped down into a baseball slide at the last minute, sliding right between the Knight's legs, and ran for the exit. The Knight's lost interest in her, and turned back to the boys.

Aurora didn't go far. As soon as she reached the Castle Gates, she realized that… there wasn't anyone to help. Everyone's heart, except for the boys' had disappeared.

She had to save them on her own. Without magic, and without weapons. She took a deep breath, and followed after the Shadows, keeping to the darkened corners to hide.


	3. Inside The Heart

Chapter Three: Inside the Heart

The Knights took the boys down into the dungeons, but Aurora eventually lost them. Feeling sick with worry, and kind of useless, she continued to search.

"Hey, you!" A boyish voice suddenly called. She turned towards the cell it was coming from, and froze. A feline like creature that was black and white, with huge blue eyes, was motioning her towards him.

( _Wait. I was going to travel with a giant talking duck and dog. Why is THIS weird?)_ she thought, going over.

"Hi?" she said. The cat looked relieved, his ears twitching.

"Hey! You look lost," he said.

"I'm actually trying to find my friends. We came here on accident, and they were taken captive. I managed to get away, but…" she trailed off, and the cat nodded.

"Right! I guess you can't fight, huh?" The cat asked.

"No, unfortunately," she said, studying the lock of the cell.

"Well, if you let me out, I can help you! The key is are _right_ there!" he said, pointing the the wall next to the cell. She spotted them and grinned, grabbing them and unlocking the cell.

"There we go," she said, pulling open the door.

"Great!" he said, the hint of a meow in his voice. Aurora smiled in amusement at that, shaking her head.

"So, I don't~" she cut off, her head snapping up, sensing more of those Knights coming towards them. "Hide!" she hissed.

"Huh?" The cat questioned, just as one of the Knight's turned the corner.

"There she is!" It yelled, before suddenly… changing.

"Oh no! A Shadow! Hey, girl, get behind me!" The cat said, pulling a sword out and getting between her and the monster the Knight had turned into.

"Sure!?" she said, doing as he said. The monster lunged toward them, but the cat smirked.

"Have a taste of my Persona!" he cried, blue fire and chains suddenly surrounding him. From the flames appeared a larger then life being, dressed in black, decretive armor with a black cloak and mask. He held a rapier, and had a large 'Z' belt buckle.

The being swept its sword into a Z shape, and wind blasted from it, wrapping around the monster and throwing it into the wall, where it disappeared.

"Whoa… what was that!?" Aurora demanded. The cat looked back at her with a grin.

"My Persona, Zorro. Now, common," he said, taking off. Aurora shook her head and followed after him.

"My name's Aurora, by the way," she said.

"Morgana," the cat said. "Now, we should~" Morgana cut off at the sound of yelling and crashes.

"That's probably them!" Aurora said, running in that direction.

"Bastards! After them! Don't let them escape!" a voice echoed from down the hall, just as she turned the corner… and ran right into the boys. As the three of them tumbled to the ground, reality seemed to shift around them. All three of them groaned in pain, until the boys realized they were laying on Aurora.

"Shit! Sorry!" the blond one said, quickly getting off of her. Ren also got up.

"Are you okay? Did you find help?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it looks like you two didn't need it," she said, brushing herself off, before freezing. Something seemed… different about Ren. She closed her eyes for a moment, and let out a silent gasp.

Where, before, it was a yellow-eyed version of himself, now it was a being, similar in feel to Morgana's Zorro, despite the difference in appearance. This one was tall and lanky, dressed in all red and black, with a top hat and large, black raven wings.

"Aurora? What's wrong?" Ren asked, and her eyes snapped open. She shook her head.

"Nothing," she said.

"Hey, what happened to that outfit!?" the blond kid suddenly asked.

"Outfit?" Aurora asked.

"Yeah, he changed into this totally badass uniform, with a mask and everything, but now… it's gone," the blond explained. Before Ren could answered, another voice, from his phone, interrupted them.

 _You have returned to the real world. Welcome back._

"Returned? Then we got away?" the blond asked.

"Wait, real world?" Aurora asked. Ren just shook his head, staring at his phone.

"I don't know…" he admitted.

"We're definitely back!" The blond gasped. "There's the school, not some castle!"

Ren and Aurora quickly looked up, spotting the school they had visited yesterday. Aurora's attention, however, was drawn to the clock face on the front of the school.

"Oh no! We're super late!" she gasped, jumping up as well, only to stagger when suddenly surrounded by distortion again.

"What's this about a 'castle'?" a voice from the top of the steps demanded. Both boys gasped, glaring at the man. It was the same one who had been in the car earlier, who had picked up Takamaki.

"Kamoshida!" the blond scowled. But the three of them walked forward, up the steps. The blond was led away by a different man, but Kamoshida stopped Ren and Aurora.

"Oh, are you two the new transfer students? Pretty ballsy to be late on your first day. Guess a criminal and an American doesn't care about school, huh?"

Aurora frowned. _(Let the stereotypes begin)_ she thought. The man then studied the two of them, his eyes roaming more over Aurora then Ren. Ren noticed, and stepped slightly in front of her, holding out an arm in front of her.

"But have we met somewhere?" he asked, before realizing. "Oh yeah. You were at the station this morning, right? With Takamaki." He shook his head. "Don't forget, you're on probation," he nodded to Ren, "and a transfer scholarship." He nodded to Aurora. "Neither of you can afford to slip up." Ren let out a soft gasp, as though he as seeing something Aurora couldn't. Kamoshida grinned at them. "Welcome to Shujin Academy," he said with a grand gesture. "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life," he added with a smirk.

The two of them quickly found the faculty office after that, and after being reemed out by their teachers, they were taken to their classes.

"Well then, class. I'd like to introduce our new student, Aurora Wright," Daremo said. The class stared at her, and already, the muttering started.

"…definitely American…"

"…those JRPG pins…?"

"…poser…"

"…American girls are sluts…"

"…steal our boyfriends…"

"Now, now. Settle down, class. Wright-san, you can sit over there," the teacher said, pointing to a spot.

"Erm, thank you," she said, nodding to the man, before taking her seat. The whispers continued around her, but she tired to ignore them.

This was going to be a very, very long year.

"Ignore them. They don't know what they're talking about," A voice suddenly said from behind. She turned to find a girl looking right at her. She had brown hair that was in a bob cut with bangs, and brown eyes that almost seemed red, depending on how the light hit them. She had an almost severe, yet kind face, and she smiled a little, softening her face more.

"I'm Mokoto Niijima," she said, offering her hand. Aurora smiled a bit, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Niijima – er – san," she said, stumbling over the honorific. Niijima laughed.

"Please, just call me Mokoto. I know the honorifics can get a little confusing.

"A little," Aurora admitted with a smile. "You can just call me Aurora."

Mokoto nodded with a smile, before paying attention to the class.

* * *

At lunch, she managed to find Ren and the blond heading up towards the roof, splitting some kind of bread. Ren smiled at her, splitting his piece again, and invited her to the roof with them, where they ate in relative peace.

That peace, however, was broken by the blond, who asked more about Ren's past, having heard rumors that it was shady.

"You seem to know trouble, too," he added, glancing at Aurora, before ginning. "Whatever. You two remember that castle, right?"

"Of course," Aurora said. Ren frowned, shaking his head.

"Kamoshida," he muttered. "We might remember, but it seems he doesn't at all."

"Then it was a dream after all?" the blond asked.

"No way. That was real. _Too_ real," Aurora said, shaking her head. Both boys looked at her. "Wasn't it?" she pressed.

"She's right," Ren said. The blond nodded thoughtfully.

"You know… there are rumors about Kamoshida," the blond suddenly said.

"Rumors?" Ren asked, and Aurora looked over curiously.

"Well, yeah… No one says anything, 'cause he's a medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. And he pretends to be friendly." He shook his head. "The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt real because of that," he added.

* * *

The rest of the school day was pretty uneventful, other then the rumors flying around about herself, Ren, and whatever else the students decided to talk about. Because the trains were still delayed here and there, it was dark by the time Aurora and Ren finally got back to Leblanc. Sakura was still there, doing dishes as the two walked in.

"Hey. The school called me," he said, glancing over them, not looking happy at all. "Giving me grief from day one, huh?"

"Sorry," Aurora said, slowing to a stop and looking down. Ren also stopped, glancing over at the man.

"Aurora, you know you'll be sent home if you're expelled. And we know you're safer here right now," he said.

Aurora nodded. ( _Yeah. Master Yen Sid would flay me alive if I got kicked out…)_ she thought to herself. Sakura met her eye and gestured for her to go upstairs. She complied, only faintly hearing his voice as he talked to Ren.

While she waited, Aurora swiftly changed into her pajamas, and grabbed her toiletries, passing Ren as she went back down the steps to the bathroom.

Once she returned, he was passed out on his bed again.

( _He falls asleep fast_ ) she thought in bemusement, covering him up, before laying back in bed and pulling her magic book over to her, writing in it.

She wrote to Yen Sid, telling him about how she still doesn't understand the make up of the heart yet, at all, but about the castle, and the apparently perverted teacher on her campus. She also described the distortions she sensed from hearts, and how the really bad ones, like the teacher, made her dizzy. She watches as the ink shimmered and faded once she finished, assuming that they were appearing on the pages of Master Yen Sid's book.

And she didn't have to wait long for a response.

 _Aurora,_

 _Have you dreamed of something called the Velvet Room, or of a being named Igor yet? He knows about the make up of hearts, and it was him who was supposed to teach you about your abilities. He could explain the distortions you sense, as well as the castle. I wish I could, but I do not quite understand all of it myself._

She read over the message, before slowly shaking her head.

 _Master Yen Sid,_

 _No, I haven't. Is he a friend of yours? What should I do if I don't meet him?_

She waited a moment.

 _He is a friend of mine. I will look into this, as it is most concerning. For now, learn as much about the distortions and this castle as you can. And please, keep in touch._

She nodded, closing the book, and sighing softly.

"Right," she muttered to herself, before glancing over at Ren, who was muttering in his sleep. She wondered what _he_ was dreaming of.

* * *

The next day at school, during PE class, the boys were practicing for the Volleyball tournament that was to be held at the rally the next day, while the girls played basketball. It wasn't Aurora's best sport, at all. In fact, dressed in a white, racer back tank-top, red sweat pants, and her red, school issued hoodie tied around her waist, she stayed mostly off to the side of the court. Glancing over at the boy's side, she saw that she had it a lot easier then them.

"New kid, you're up!" Kamoshida stood on a platform that was up against the net on the one side, while Ren moved to the other side of the net, getting ready. She watched in horror as Kamoshida took one of the balls and threw it straight into the air… before spiking it right at Akira. The first one hit him square in the chest, which elicited a grunt from the boy, before the second slammed into his shoulder, causing him to stumble back, falling to one knee.

"What's wrong?" Kamoshida called. "If you play like that at the rally tomorrow, the girls will laugh at you!"

Aurora watched as Ren pushed himself back to his feet, the start of a glare on his face.

"Quit slacking, newbie!" the teacher yelled, spiking a third ball. Ren's eyes grew huge for only a split second, before the ball slammed into his face, causing his glasses to go flying, and for Ren to fall backwards.

"Ren!" Aurora called, running over to the boy. His head snapped up though, his eyes cold, hard, and angry as he glared at the teacher. Kamoshida gasped softly, his own eyes widening slightly as he looked… almost scared. It lasted only a second, before the glare came back.

"R-right, next! Mishima!" he snapped. Aurora grabbed Ren's glasses and carefully folded them, walking off the court with the boy.

"Are you okay?" Aurora asked worriedly, noticing a bruise forming on his cheek.

"I'm alright. Thank you," he said softy.

"God, what a prick," Aurora scowled, and Ren smiled a bit. Aurora looked back at him, before shaking her head. "Let's go to the nurse, to get an ice pack for that," she said. He nodded slightly, the two of them slipping out of the gym.

"So, what are we going to tell Sojiro when he thinks I got into a fight and caused trouble?" Ren asked after a moment of silence.

"Well, I'm hoping we'll ice it soon enough that it'll be gone. I'd say the truth, but if what our friend said yesterday is true, it doesn't matter. He'll turn a blind eye to it," she sighed.

"Right," Ren muttered.

"I want to stop him," Aurora said softly. Ren glanced at her questioningly. "Kamoshida. He's… cruel. And a complete creep," she explained. "I've seen the way he looks at girls. Including myself. The stereotypes that American girls are sluts doesn't help with that," she added bitterly.

"It bothers you a lot, huh?" Ren asked softly. Aurora glanced over.

"How can it not?" she demanded. He nodded, falling quiet for a moment, before looking at her.

"We'll figure something out. I promise I'll be right there to help you," he said. She looked up at him, and smiled.

"Thank you," she said warmly, just as they stopped in front of the nurse's office.

 _I am thou, thou art I…_

 _Thou hast acquired a new vow._

 _It shall become the wings of rebellion_

 _that breaketh thy chains of captivity._

 _With the birth of the Aeon Persona,_

 _I have obtained the winds of blessing that_

 _shall lead to freedom and new power…_

"I'll see you later. Go back to class, before you're late."

"Right. See you," she said with a small smile, heading back to the gym. As she walked, she put a hand over her locket.

( _I might not have you, or any of our other friends here… but it seems I'm not alone after all)_ she thought, her smile growing.

* * *

Aurora, Ren, and the blond all met back up on the roof of the school at the end of the school day. The blond finally introduced himself, Ryuji Sakamoto, before getting into the rumors spreading like wild fire about them around school, and how Kamoshida was likely behind then. Then… they got on the topic of the castle. Ryuji felt there was something inside the castle they could use to prove Kamoshida was not the saint everyone treated him to be.

"Let's do this," Aurora said, stepping forward. Both boys looking at her, surprised.

"For real?" Ryuji gasped. Ren grinned, and pulled out his phone, showing them both an app icon. It was red, with an eyeball.

"What is this?" Ryuji asked.

"Metaverse Navigator," Ren explained.

Ten minutes later, and by moving to the front of the school, and using that mysterious app, the three of them were standing in front of the castle once more.

"The castle from yesterday?" Ryuji breathed. Aurora, meanwhile, was looking at Ren, eyes wide. He wore a black and white mask, rather then his glasses, and a dark gray, double button up turtle neck under a black trench coat with a high collar. Completing the look was a pair of black pants, boots, and crimson gloves.

Ryuji noticed the look.

"See, I told you about the outfit!" he said. "He's dressed up like a magician," he added. Aurora laughs at that.

"I don't really think so," she said with a grin, before looking forward. "Um, I can… sense the Shadows. Those monsters," she explained. "There's none near the front this time, though."

"Good. Let's go!" Ren said sharply, walking forward. Ryuji and Aurora jumped, before following him.

"It's like he's a completely different person," Ryuji said, and Aurora had to nod in agreement.

With Aurora being able to sense the Shadows, the three of them made it to the dungeons without meeting any.

What they found was anything but pretty.

In the 'training facility,' people dressed in the Shujin gym clothes were subject to various forms of sports themed torture. The cruelest, by far, was the boy hanging from the ceiling by his ankles, while a canon shot a volleyball at him, hitting him in the chest and stomach.

"Wh-what the hell!?" Ryuji gasped.

"Oh my god," Aurora added, her hands covering her mouth in horror.

Suddenly, the scene in front of them shifted, and instead of the dungeons, they were looking at the gym. Just as fast as it changed, it reverted back.

"The gym?" Ren gasped softly. Ryuji gasped.

"That's a member of the Volleyball team. Are the rumors true? He uses physical punishment? And abuses the members?" he mused.

"It would seem like it," Aurora said, looking over at the boys. "We have to save him," she added.

"It's no use, Aurora," a familiar voice said. She turned quickly to see Morgana. He's not a real human," he added, coming closer. "Only a puppet that exists in this 'Palace.'"

"Morgana! You're still around!" Aurora said, dropping to one knee, and petting the top of the cat's head.

"Hey! Stop that! I'm not a ca~ mrrrow? Prrrrrrrrr…" Morgana cut off, enjoying that.

"The hell!? It's a monster cat!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"I'm not a cat!" Morgana snapped, smacking Aurora's hand away.

"You know it?" Ren asked, looking at Aurora, who nodded.

"Yeah. I sprang him from one of the cells last time we were here, and he can fight. He was supposed to be the help I found, but you two got free, so… yeah," she trailed off with a shrug. "Morgana, this is Ren and Ryuji. And… what did you mean, he's not a real human?" she asked.

Morgana glanced at the two boys, before looking at Aurora.

"He's a fake. Don't you know where you're at?" he demanded.

"Not really. Just a castle run by that bastard, Kamoshida," Ryuji grumbled, crossing his arms. Morgana sighed.

"This is Kamoshida's cognitive world. How he views things. That boy is just a puppet, created by his mind. This whole Palace is the result of his twisted desires," Morgana explained. Ryuji looked confused, as did Ren. Aurora, on the other hand, gasped.

"So, like, we're in his heart?" she asked.

"Precisely!" Morgana said brightly, his tail weaving in the air.

"I'm not getting it," Ryuji said, and Ren chuckled a little.

"It is a bit confusing, but this might not be the best place to~" He cut off when noticing how stiff Aurora got, her eyes growing huge.

"Shadows. A lot of them, coming from there!" she said, pointing in the direction. Just then, about ten of the nights rounded the corner. Ren scowled and pulled his mask off his face, but it simply fizzled with a few blue sparks, rather then doing anything impressive. He gasped, looking at the mask for a moment.

"You've got a Persona?" Morgana gasped, looking up at the boy, before looking back at the Shadows. "There's too many of them! Let's run!" Morgana took off, but didn't make it too far before finding a dead end. The four of them were trapped, and quickly taken back to the entrance hall.

That's where Kamoshida was, announced by the overwhelming feeling of distortion for Aurora. However, it took a lot for the girl to not laugh his appearance. The teacher was wearing a sparkly pink cloak that was lined with white fur, sneakers, and a pink speedo. He also wore a crown on top of his head. The last detail, which sobered Aurora up pretty fast, was the glowing yellow eyes.

"Kamoshida! Wearing that stupid outfit again!" Ryuji snarled.

"He's not the man you know," Morgana quickly explained. "The dark, hidden desires of the _real_ Kamoshida have taken physical form in this world. In other words, that's Kamoshida's Shadow!"

"Hah. How far the star runner of the track team has fallen," the Shadow said with a twisted smirk. Ryuji's glare darkened as the Shadow continued, revealing how Ryuji acted in violence by punching Kamoshida when the teacher oversaw the team's practice. He even took joy in revealing how he broke Ryuji's leg, and taunting him about breaking his other one.

"Dammit!" Ryuji cried, falling to all fours and punching the floor. "Am I gonna lose again? I can't run anymore 'cause of this asshole! And the track team is gone, too…"

Aurora watched the boy fall apart in front of her with huge eyes. "Ryuji," she said softly, reaching for his shoulder.

Just then, Kamoshida slammed his foot down onto Ren's back, pinning him. One of the Knight's did the same to Morgana, and a third Shadow grabbed Aurora, pinning her arms behind her back.

"After these two are dealt with," he motioned to Ren and Morgana, "and I have my way with her…" he looked at Aurora and licked his lips in a way that sent a shudder of disgust through the girl, "you're next!" His glowing yellow eyes turned back to Ryuji, a smirk twisting his lips.

"You're gonna let him talk to you like that? You can't forgive him, right?" Ren demanded from under Kamoshida's foot. Ren's head snapped up, and he met Ryuji's eye. "Let's take back what's dear to you!"

"You're right. I don't matter. My rep is already beyond repair," Ryuji muttered, before gritting his teeth. "But they deserve to be in the sun again!"

"Ha! Struggle all you want!" Kamoshida laughed, digging his foot harder into Ren's back, smirking at Ryuji. "You'll never be anything more than scum that dragged his friends down! Once you've been labeled, you can never peel it off!"

"You're wrong!" Ryuji yelled, rising to his feet. "It's you… all you think about is using people… You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!" he yelled, pointing at the pervert. Suddenly, he gasped in pain, grabbing his head.

"No way. You too, Blondie!?" Morgana gasped.

Aurora watched in horror as the blond dropped to his knees, clutching his head, gasping and crying out in pain.

"This is the cognitive world, where the heart takes shape and determines everything," Morgana asked as Ren's confused face. "Also… Persona! It's the rebellious soul locked deep within a person's heart.

"Wait, he's gaining a Persona!?" Aurora gasped, remembering Morgana's Persona, Zorro. Before the cat could answer, Ryuji screamed in pain, and all eyes turned back to him. Aurora gasped, watching as his eyes glowed yellow, feeling the way his heart seems to unchain itself, and open, letting out the deepest part of his soul, while Ryuji writhed in pain on the floor.

As the deepest part of his soul escaped from his unchained heart, blue fire surrounded his face, before fading, leaving a steal mask in the shape of a skull in its place.

Ryuji reached up, digging his fingers in between the mask and his face, and ripped it off, leaving blood in its place with a cry of pain, only a second before he was surrounded by blue flames.

When those died down, the boy stood with his head down, dressed in a new outfit, with a being over him. It was a skeleton dressed in blue and red pirate garb, with a black pirate hat, riding on a floating ship.

Ryuji looked up, and smirked. "Heh. This is my Persona! Right on! With power like this…" His smirk turned into a glare as he looked right at Kamoshida. "It's time for payback, you son of a bitch!"

"Slay him!" Kamoshida yelled, pointing at Ryuji. The Knight holding Aurora dropped her, changed into a monster, and charged with his comrades.

"Steal it, Captain Kidd!" Ryuji yelled, and his Persona shot lightning forward. The newly freed Ren ripped off his mask, calling for his Persona, Arsene, who used dark magic on another of the monsters, while Morgana called Zorro to take out the third. Aurora backed away, pressing herself against the wall as she watched, feeling… helpless.

Once all three monsters were down, the three Persona users attacked as one, using an All-In attack that completely destroyed them.

Ryuji panted for a moment, before glaring up at Kamoshida. "Not too shabby! And you're next, Kamoshida!"

"Hmph. I told you, this is _my_ castle. It seems you still don't get it…" the man scoffed, having moved up the steps to look down on them during the fight. As they watched, a girl in pigtails, wearing a string bikini and cat ears, walked over, snuggling into Kamoshida's side. Aurora recognized her a Takamaki, the girl she and Ren had met their first day of school, before entering the Palace. She realized, however, like the boy hanging upside down in the dungeon, that this wasn't the real one. It was a fake, made by Kamoshida.

The boys, however, didn't seem to realize that at first, as their jaws hit the floor. Even Morgana, who gushed over how beautiful she was.

"You're the best, Mr. K! You should take out the trash!" the girl said.

"I think I will. Get them! I decree the death penalty!" Kamoshida yelled, and even more Shadows appeared.

"There's too many of them. And more on their way," Aurora said, stepping back over to the boys. Ren nodded.

"Then let's go!"

"Yeah, good call, rookie!" Morgana said, taking off, with Aurora right behind him. Ren grabbed Ryuji's arm, dragging him after them as they made their escape to a side room with a large vent.

"Well, I paid you back, Aurora. And then some," Morgana said, looking up at the girl.

"What are you…?" Ryuji trailed off, looking at him.

"There's something that I still need to do," Morgana said with a smile.

Aurora's head snapped up. "They're coming," she said. Ryuji's eyes widened, and he climbed up the bookshelf that lead to a vent that would take them out. Ren and Aurora stopped to smile at the cat.

"Thank you," Aurora said. Ren nodded with a smile.

"We'd be dead without you," he added, and the two of them climbed up and out, returning once more to the real world.

It was already dark when they returned, and all three of them were hungry. They headed to a Ramen Shop in Shibuya and just talked until they were done, and each headed on their way home.


	4. Decisions

**A/N:** Hey guys! Not much to say here. Quick note, "gaijin" means foreigner, and depending on how it's said, has a negative connotation.

That's all! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four: Decisions

"The Palace!? Look, Amamiya, just because you saw it in a dream…" Ryuji started, only tp be sushed by Ren. Aurora, on the other hand, was thinking over the location and people of Ren's dream. The Velvet Room. Igor. Both of those were mentioned by Yen Sid. In fact, he said she should have dreamed about them, so Igor could teach her more about the heart.

( _I'll have to tell Master Yen Sid about this later…)_ she thought, putting a hand on her bag, where her book was.

"But if you're serious, like you and Monamona said, Takamaki and the volleyball club members who were at the palace…" Ryuji said as they stepped onto a train.

Suddenly, however, distortion surrounded Aurora. It was different from Kamoshida's, though. This one was almost like… two sides of the same coin, fighting each other. Similar to the feeling she got from Inuyasha, actually. She quickly looked up and around, before locking eyes with someone.

He had caramel brown hair, and brown eyes, wearing a tan, double button suite jacket over a white collared shirt, and a black and white tie. Black gloves, slacks, and dress shoes completed the attire. He was looking, however, not at her, but at Ryuji, who had just mentioned the abuse of the volleyball team members, just as the doors were closing.

"Aurora, what do you think?" Ren asked, giving Aurora's arm a shake.

"Hm?" she muttered, looking up at him.

"About trying to find proof against Kamoshida during the rally. If we're to stop him, we need evidence, right?" he explained.

"Oh! Right! That's a good idea, actually. I can talk to the female volleyball players," she offered.

"Perfect!" Ryuji grinned. "We're gonna take that bastard down!"

* * *

Finding a witness willing to testify against Kamoshida was harder then Aurora thought it would be. She split off from the boys, starting downstairs, first, while the boys started upstairs.

No one wanted to talk to her.

"Abuse? No, we're just practicing hard. I'm sure a poser like you wouldn't understand."

"Is he sleeping with students? Hah! Maybe Takamaki-san, but I doubt anyone else. Why? Planning on making a move on him, _gaijin_?"

"It's just like an American to stick her nose in other people's business and try to police everything. It's not abuse, it's just tough practice."

"Ugh. This is getting me no where," she sighed, having heard much the same the whole time. She made her way back to the courtyard, only to almost be ran over by Takamaki and some other girl.

"I've known her since first year of middle school. Suzui, too," Aurora heard as she reached the courtyard. Ryuji and Ren were there, watching after the two girls.

"Hey, there you are," Ren said, looking at Aurora. "Any luck?"

"No, unfortunately," Aurora sighed, going over and buying herself a drink from the vending machine. "No one wants to talk to the slutty _gaijin_ poser," she added bitterly.

"Ouch," Ryuji muttered, shaking his head.

"Hey, that was Lady Ann, right?" a very familiar voice suddenly asked. The three of them looked around, surprised, until a black and white cat, with a yellow collar, jumped up onto the table. "The real one sure is different."

"That voice!" Ren gasped.

"Morgana!?" Aurora asked.

"What are you doing here? And you're a cat? A talking cat!?" Ryuji demanded.

"I'm not a cat!" Morgana snarled at him, his ears flattening slightly. "It's what happened when I came here." He stretched in a very cat like way, before sitting, his tail weaving back and forth. "I have a proposal for you guys. You can use the Palance to 'reform' Kamoshida.

"Really?" Aurora asked, wondering if this is what she's meant to do while here.

"I can tell you how, if you agree to lend me a hand," Morgana said.

"What do you mean…?" Ryuji asked.

"Shut up and listen! I'm giving you important info," Morgana snapped at Ryuji.

"There's a risk involved with reforming. Worst-case, Kamoshida could die," Morgana said. Aurora's eyes widened at the thought. She didn't like the man one bit, and he was a pervert who was also scum, but… to kill him? That would go against everything she believes in.

"Even so, will you do it?"

The three glanced at each other, and Aurora could sense those two agreed with her thoughts.

"Guess you can't decide right away, huh? Think it over carefully, you three," Morgana said, stretching again. "I'll be waiting. See you." And with that, Morgana walked away.

* * *

On their way home, the two of them noticed Takamaki on the phone, arguing loudly with the person on the other end, before looking upset. Ren hesitated, stepping towards her, and Aurora smiled.

"Go talk to her. She seems like she could use a friend," Aurora said.

"What about you?" Ren asked.

"I'm just going to go home and help out in Lablanc. See you," she said, jogging forward to catch the next train, while Ren went over to Takamaki.

Sakura was surprised she wanted to help, but didn't complain at all. Instead, he set her to washing dishes, wiping off the tables and counters, and sweeping the store.

"Maybe next time you help out, I'll teach you to make a real cup of coffee," the man said with a warm smile as he watched her.

"I'd like that, actually," she replied with a smile, looking up when Ren finally returned home.

* * *

"The English saying, ' **Two birds with one stone** '…" the English teacher droned on as Aurora listened.

 _Bzzt… bzzt…_

She pulled her phone out, keeping it under her desk, and clicked on the chat icon. It was a group message with Ryuji and Ren.

Ryuji _: What'd you think of what Monamona said yesterday?_

Aurora: _About reforming him? Wanna do it, but I don't wanna kill him…_

Ren: _Right. I mean, I'm curious, but…_

Ryuji: _I get where you both are coming from. When he said he could die…_

Ryuji: _Sure, Kamoshida pisses me off, but I don't wanna be responsible for his death._

Aurora: _Same…_

Ren: _Of course not._

Ryuji: _Let's look for another way._

Aurora: _It might still have to do with his heart. Just not in the way Morgana was thinking._

"Oh my god!" one of the kids near the window suddenly cried, causing Aurora's head to snap up.

"Is that Suzui from the volleyball team?"

"Is she…. She's going to jump!"

Aurora's eyes widened, and she stood with the rest of the class, rushing to the courtyard, ignoring the teacher who yelled at them to sit back down.

There were screams that erupted from the students as Suzui, the girl who was with Takamaki, jumped from the roof, and instantly, a cellphones came out. A few people called 911, but most were filming. Aurora stood back, eyes wide with horror.

She knew suicide could happen, but to see it…

"She's still alive!" A teacher, who had ran over to her, called, just as an ambulance arrived. The EMTs quickly moved her onto a stretcher, strapping her down so she wouldn't fall off.

"Shiho…. Why?" a shaky voice suddenly asked from next to her. She turned to see Ann in tears, and did the most humane thing she could think of.

She wrapped an arm around her, and gave her a squeeze. Ann looked up at her in shock, but didn't push her away, either, seeming to need the comforting gesture to ground herself.

"Ann?" Suzui muttered, and Ann ran over to her.

"Shiho!" she cried, falling to her knees next to the girl.

Aurora couldn't hear what the two talked about, but whatever it was caused horror and anger to flash across Ann's face.

"Shiho!" Ann cried as the girl fell unconscious.

"Somebody needs to go with her! Are there any teachers here?" one of the EMTs called. There was a lot of muttering, before Ann looked up.

"I'll go!" she said, standing. Aurora could see the pain in her eyes.

"I'll go, too," she said, stepping forward. Ann looked at her in surprise, and she gave the girl a small smile. "No one should have to deal with something like this on their own," she explained. A small smile of gratitude crossed Ann's face, and she nodded.

"Alright, let's go," the EMTs said, moving Suzui into the ambulance. Ann and Aurora quickly followed them in, and it took off, moving quickly took off.

At the hospital, Ann and Aurora sat in the waiting room while they rushed Suzui back to the OR. Ann covered her face, completely shaken from the experience. Aurora was fairing only a little better, but that was because she didn't know Suzui that well, either. She sat back in her seat, rubbing the girl's back.

"Hey, um… Takamaki? If you need to talk about anything…" she said. Ann looked over at her, and frowned a little.

"You're the foreign exchange student… Aurora Wright, right? Why are you doing this? You don't know… either of us," she said. Aurora blinked, before smiling weakly.

"I know you're going through a rough time. And that the one person you usually lean on is currently back there, fighting for her life," she said, looking down. "I might not know you guys, but I know you shouldn't be alone. That you need someone there for you," she finished. Ann blinked at her, before smiling weakly.

"Well, thank you, Wright-senpai," she said softly. Aurora shook her head.

"Just call me Aurora," she said. Ann smiled sadly at that.

"You can call me Ann, then."

The two fell quiet, with Aurora rubbing the other girl's back. They were there for a while, before Suzui's parents finally showed up, and the EMTs drove them back to the school.

Right before they left, however, they overheard the doctors telling Suzui's parents that the girl had fallen into a coma.

Returning to the school was an almost surreal experience. She and Ann split off after exchanging numbers. Ann was headed back to her class, while Aurora decided to see if she could find the boys, first.

She stepped around the building, getting the feeling they'd be in the courtyard, when the sick feeling of distortion washed over her.

"Ah, Wright. There you are," an all too familiar voice said, and suddenly, he was way too close. She looked up at him, backing away a little, closer to the wall.

"Mr. Kamoshida," she said, and the man smirked, suddenly looking just like his Shadow counterpart.

"I'm surprised you weren't with your friends when they just stormed into my office," the man said, moving a little closer. Aurora's back was to the wall totally now, but she glared up at him.

"Stormed into your office?" she asked.

"To accuse me. Hmph. That's alright. I'm gonna get that Sakamoto and that criminal expelled for this," he gloated. Aurora's eyes widened at that, knowng that if Ren was expelled… he'd end up in jail.

"You can't," she said softly, and satisfaction suddenly appeared in the man's eyes.

"Oh? Maybe you should… convince me." He moved closer, until there was no space between the two of them. Aurora tried to press back, more into the wall, but it was no use.

"Go to hell. I would never," Aurora snarled. Before she realized what he was doing, he caught her wrists, pinning them to the wall with one of his big hands, his other reaching for the zipper of the hoodie she wore under the school blazer.

"Common, I thought this kind of stuff was thrilling for you American sluts," he said with a smirk, while Aurora struggled, a scream stuck in her throat.

He froze as the two of them heard footsteps, before quickly letting go of her wrists. She clutched her hands to her chest, looking up to see who it was.

Makoto Niijima turned the corner, and froze for a moment, looking between the two of them. Aurora gave her a pleading look, feeling like she HAD to know what was happening, due to the lack of space between them, but the girl just kept walking, looking away a little. Horror rolled through Aurora at the fact that one of her classmates just ignored the situation like that. She glanced up at Kamoshida, who was watching after the girl, before suddenly making a break for it, darting sideways along the wall, until she was out of his reach and taking off, stopping only once she reached the courtyard, where the boys were.

"Whoa, Aurora, are you okay?" Ren asked, jumping up when seeing the state she was in. She looked between the two boys, remembering how Kamoshida had said they stormed into his office, and how they were going to get expelled. She let out a breath.

"I'm fine. I just…" She shook her head, going over and dropping onto the bench between him and Ryuji. "Are you two really going to get expelled?" she asked. The boys looked down, neither one answering. She frowned.

"We should hear Morgana out," she said, her fear suddenly replaced with determination.

"I don't want to kill anyone," Ryuji said.

"But Morgana said that was a 'worst-case scenario,'" Ren pointed out, looking at Aurora, warming to the idea. "If we can pull it off without killing Kamoshida…"

"So we take a gamble, huh?" Ryuji asked.

"This can't go on," Ren said, and Aurora nodded.

"We can't let others go through what Suzui did," Aurora added. Both boys nodded, and the three of them left, moving from the courtyard to the front of the school.

"Here we go," Ren said, activating the Meta Nav. Moments later, they stood in front of the Castle. Morgana, who had been waiting for them, smirked, crossing his arms.

"So I guess that's a yes, then?" he asked, his tail weaving around behind him.

"Yes," the three of them said.

"Then let's get started."


	5. Treasure

**A/N:** I just want to say, montages are hard to write in prose form, haha. And thank you for the strong reactions to the last chapter. I _love_ getting people all fired up!

Also, a reminded. I am following the Anime on this, as opposed to the game. The anime did something in different order then the game did. That is why this chapter is the way it is.

Last thing: I want to give a shout out to Wolfiered23! I've known her for a good three years now, since I returned to this site, actually (I say returned because I was writing back in middle school. I shudder even when I see my old account not. BURN IT! BURN IT WITH FIRE!) She's been my rock, my most loyal reader, my sound board of ideas, and the best friend I needed through one of the hardest times in my life. Thank you, Wolfie, for real. And if you enjoy this story, you should go check out her Persona 5 story, Spirit of Rebellion. She's actually using the game, unlike me, but it's REALLY good!

Well, here we go!

Chapter Five: Treasure

Despite not having her Persona, Aurora managed to keep up with Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana easily, even while climbing up walls, or jumping from chandelier to chandelier. Her normal training and fighting had conditioned her body in ways she never expected.

 _(I wonder if Sora and Riku feel like this_ …) she thought with a smile, before focusing on what Morgana was telling them while they moved through the castle, avoiding the Shadows and learning the art of stealth.

"Listen. This Castle is how Kamoshida views this school. He doesn't realize what's happening here, but it's connected to the depths of his heart. So if the castle were to disappear, it would naturally effect his real self. A Palace is twisted desire manifested, so making it vanish would…"

"…turn Kamoshida into a decent person?" Ren asked. The four of them had found a safe room, and were resting at the table inside.

"Bingo! You really are perceptive," Morgana said with a grin.

"For real!? He'd turn into a nice guy?" Ryuji gasped. Aurora grinned, crossing her arms.

"And it would back Kamoshida into a corner. With everything he's done, he'd feel _so_ guilty, he'd have to confess. And that's the strongest evidence, in a court of law," she said. Everyone stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"You just sounded like a lawyer," Ryuji said.

"Oh. Um, my cousin is a Defense Attorney, and… I was his intern before… transferring here," she explained, putting a hand over the badge that was on the lapel of her school blazer.

"Let's keep going!" Morgana said, charging out of the room, with the other three following.

"You know, though, with the Palace gone, he'll have no memory of what we did here," Morgana said after a while, once the four had climbed a tower. "He'll break down and won't know we were involved."

"Not a mental shutdown, right?" Aurora demanded, and Morgana shook his head.

"No, I meant as in confess," he clarified, and Aurora nodded, relaxing. Despite what happened earlier, she didn't want to kill the man.

She just wanted him to spend the rest of his life in jail.

"Awesome! You're an awesome cat!" Ryuji exclaimed, while Ren looked over at Aurora, almost as though he was sensing her thoughts.

"Except I'm no cat!" Morgana hissed.

"So, how do we get rid of a Palace?" Ren asked, before the two could start arguing.

"The center of the Palace is the core of his desires," Morgana said, continuing onwards. "We just have to steal his treasure. From what I've gathered, his treasure is being stored…" He threw open a pair of double doors they had just reached. "…Here!"

Inside the room was a large pile of gold, with precious gems and jewels scattered throughout. However, Morgana ignored all of that, darting in and staring up at an orb of light that was floating over an oversized trophy.

"That's the treasure?" Aurora asked, starting to follow the others in, before stumbling slightly. She could sense it. The epicenter of distortion, emanating from that orb of light. Morgana looked over at her.

"You sense it, don't you? Like you sense the Shadows. Yes, this is it. The source of the distortion all around us."

"So, how do we steal it?" Ren asked.

"Well, today, we secured the infiltration route," Morgana said, turning to face the three of them. "We need to make it materialize before we can steal it."

"So? You haven't told us the most important part yet," Ren said. Morgana snickered.

"Don't rush me. If a Palace disappears, the twisted desires should go with it. But desire itself is necessary for life. Sleeping, eating, love… stuff like that."

"Wh-what are you tryin' to say?" Ryuji asked.

"If all of his desires vanish, not just his twisted ones," Morgana began. Aurora gasped.

"He'll have a mental shutdown," she finished. Morgana looked at her, and nodded seriously. "Well, how do we make sure that doesn't happen?" she demanded.

"We don't kill his Shadow… I think." Morgana shook his head. "Despite the risk, are you prepared to change his heart?" he demanded.

Before they could answer, an alarm went off, somewhere deep in the castle.

"Wh-what that? Did they find us!?" Ryuji gasped as the three of them spun to face the door.

"No, it's not us. Apparently, there's another intruder. I was wondering why there weren't many guards around," Morgana said.

"Intruder?" Ren asked, looking at the cat.

"We should check it out. It could be a normal kid like…" Aurora hesitated, glancing between the two boys, before giggling slightly. "Like we _used_ to be."

"Right!" Ren said, and the four of them took off, traversing back through the castle the way they came.

555

When the four found the 'intruder,' Aurora's heart stopped. Ann was tied to an X frame, surrounded by Shadows, with Kamoshida right in front of her, and the fake Ann off to the side. Kamoshida held a sword, that he was currently using to cut the front of Ann's shirt.

"Stop right there, you sick perv!" Ryuji yelled.

"Aurora, stay back," Ren added, and the girl nodded, letting the other three go ahead of her.

"Aurora? And, that voice… Sakamoto!? Which means the other new kid, too?" Ann asked, looking between them.

"Hello, I'm Amamiya," Ren introduced himself. Aurora could have smacked him, and Ryuji looked over in shock.

"Seriously? Even with the mask on?" he demanded.

"Really not the time, Ren," Aurora added.

"Anyway, what is she doing here?" Ryuji wondered.

"It's possible she was nearby when we used the Meta-Nav…" Ren said thoughtfully, cupping his chin.

"Hold on, Lady Ann! We'll save you!" Morgana cried. Aurora looked at him.

"'Lady Ann'? Seriously? Why doesn't he call me 'Lady Aurora'?" she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"No way! A talking monster cat!?" Ann gasped. Morgana… took that one hard, and Aurora couldn't help but giggle softly at that.

"Ain't you gonna say your 'I'm not a cat' thing?" Ryuji asked.

"Shut up! Leave me alone, monkey!" Morgana snarled back.

"Monkey!? You little—" Ryuji started, but cut off when Ren threw an arm between them.

"You three again? How many times you gonna come back?" Kamoshida asked, before looking at Aurora. "Or are you offering yourself to me finally, to save these two from expulsion?"

Both boys and Ann looked at Aurora as a shudder of disgust ran through her, but she scowled at him. "Screw you!" she snarled.

"Hmph. I take that as a no," the Shadow sounded only mildly disappointed, before looking over his shoulder at Ann. "I bet you're just like those thieves. You came because you're pissed at me, huh? But, uh… I forget the girl's name, but it's your fault she jumped." Aurora's blood ran cold as Ann's eyes widened in horror. "You didn't give me what I wanted, so I had her take your place.

"You _raped_ her!?" Aurora demanded. She knew the horrors he was capable of. This castle right here proved it. But to hear him basically admit it…

"If she croaks, it's on you," Kamoshida drove the nail home, glancing over his shoulder at Ann as he said it. Ann's eyes were huge as she stared at the monster in front of her, taking in his words.

"Shiho… after that call…" Ann muttered, horrified.

"Stop!" Ryuji yelled, starting forward. One of the Shadows leveled his sword with Ann's throat.

"One more step and I kill her on the spot!" Kamoshida warned.

"Dammit," Ryuji growled.

"Just sit back and enjoy the dismantlement show," Kamoshida smirks.

"Takamaki!" Ren yelled. Ann didn't seem to hear him, though.

"Is this what I get? For Shiho…" the girl breathed, a small sob escaping her.

"You should've been like this from the start," Kamoshida said, watching the girl.

"Shiho, I'm sorry…" Tears ran down her face. Aurora gritted her teeth.

"Ann, what happened wasn't your fault!" she called.

"Aurora's right. Why are you just going to give in? Who's going to pay him back, for you or Suzui?" Ren pressed. Ann opened her eyes with a soft gasp. "She's your friend, right?" Ren added passionately, trying to get through to her.

"Yeah!" Ann said, the fear and sadness on her face slowly changing. "Ever since middle school. I would space out in class and she was the only one who'd talk to me." Her voice dropped down angrily. "But what he did to her… I'll make him pay!" she declared. "That's right! I won't stay quiet while this scumbag talks shit!"

Kamoshida actually back up in surprise, before scowling again. Ann, however, gasped in pain, her eyes widening. The girl's eyes turned yellow as she cried out in pain, writhing on the X frame.

"I hear you… Carmen," she panted after a few minutes, her head dropping forward. "You're right!" her head snapped up, and a red mask, similar to the face of a cat's, was covering her face. "No more holding back!"

Kamoshida scrambled back, gasping in fear of the girl. Blue flames covered the binds holding her to the frame, before they suddenly broke, freeing her. As she landed on the ground, she reached up, ripping her mask off with a scream of pain, blue flames surrounding her.

"Whoa! Takamaki has a Persona, too!?" Ryuji gasped, while Ren watched with a smirk. Aurora smiled a bit herself, honestly not surprised.

When the flames faded, Ann stood, tall and proud, in a skin-tight red latex catsuit with a cleavage cutout and zippers. Pink gloves covered her hands and halfway up to her elbows, and she wore dark red thigh-high boots. Completing the look was a tail clipped on to the back of her suit.

Behind her was a being, female, with dark pink skin. She wore a black panther mask, with her hair done in ringlet pigtails, and a black collar. Her dress was mostly open in the front, showing off her boobs, and the long sleeves of her dress turned into gloves. Her skirt was large, flowing, and layered, with each layer being red, trimmed with white and black. Around her waist was a large belt of roses, which two thorny vines trailed from, attached to the necks of two smaller being's in suits, with heart shaped boxes on their heads. Completing the look was a cigar sticking out of the woman's mouth.

Ann suddenly shot forward, towards Kamoshida. He scrambled back, putting a Shadow between himself and her. The shadow took a swing, but Ann ducked under the blade, before suddenly kicking the sword out of the Shadow's hand, and into the air. She leapt into the air, over the Shadows, and caught the sword, before twisting in midair, slashing the fake version of herself as she landed.

"I'm not some cheap girl you can toy with!" she snarled.

"Y-you wretched…" Kamoshida stammered.

"You stole everything from Shiho, and crushed her underfoot." Ann stabbed the sword into the ground. "But now you'll pay! I'll steal everything from you!" Her Persona appeared behind her, as Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana moved to join her.

Aurora, knowing she'd only get in the way, backed up, pressing herself against the wall.

The four of them worked together, using their Persona's, to take down the powerful Shadows, while Kamoshida worked his way around the room. Aurora's focus was glued to the battle, however, so she didn't realize he was at the door until the Shadows were gone.

"S-seriously!?" the pervert muttered, before running. Ann whirled around.

"Wait!" she yelled, before collapsing to the ground. She finally looked down at herself. "What's this outfit!? When did I…" she gasped. Aurora smiled weakly, coming over.

"It's okay. Your outfit changes when you Awaken your Persona," she said, offering the girl her hand.

"We need to get out of here! He's gonna send reinforcements!" Morgana yelled.

Ann took Aurora's hand, who pulled her up, letting the exhausted girl lean against her.

"Lead the way," she told the boys. Ren nodded, doing so, until the five of them were finally out of the Palace.

555

Ryuji, who had went to buy drinks, once they reached the train station, came back, holding up four bottles.

"Which one you want?" he asked Ann.

"Whichever's not carbonated," she said, glancing between the four.

Ryuji glanced between them. "They all are," he admitted. Ann sighed and just took one. Ryuji asked Aurora the same question, who shrugged and took one at random, and the boys took the last two. Ren's bag squirmed for a few minutes, before Morgana finally got his head out.

"Where's mine?" he demanded of Ryuji.

"Huh? But you're a cat," Ryuji said.

Ann giggled. "A cat talking to people… this feels weird," she said, before glancing around. "We're the only ones who can hear him, right?"

"Yeah. Only people who have been in a Palace can talk to me."

"To think a world like that exists…" the girl mused. "But I understand what you've told me, so let's change his heart."

"We have to," Aurora said, and the whole group turned to her.

"Aurora… what did he mean when he asked if you were offering yourself to him? To save us?" Ren asked, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. Aurora looked up at him, and between the group, before sighing.

"When we came back to the hospital, I was looking for you two," she said, glancing between Ren and Ryuji. "He found me around the side of the building… and offered me a deal. I could save you two from expulsion… if I gave him what he wanted." Her hand tightened around the bottle of soda in anger.

"For real!?" Ryuji gasped, and Ren's hand tightened on her shoulder. Aurora took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Yeah. Of course, I turned him down. But… when I did that…" she trailed off.

"He tried to force himself on you," Ann said softly, and Aurora nodded, her eyes welling up with a delayed reaction to the fear she felt in that moment. Ann shook her head, and wrapped her arms around Aurora, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry you had to go through with something like that," she said softly.

"He didn't go all the way, did he?" Ren demanded. Aurora shook her head.

"No. Nijii…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "A student came around the corner, and he let me go. I booked it to the courtyard, where you two were," she explained.

"First Ann, then Suzui, now Aurora!?" Ryuji growled, punching his fist into his palm. "This is effed up! That bastard is going down!"

"He will pay for his crimes," Ann added darkly, pulling back and just standing with Aurora, rubbing her back. Aurora took a few deep breaths, and nodded.

"I might not have a Persona, but I _can_ sense Shadows. I'm coming with you," she said. Ren smirked.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze again. "After all, this is your fight too, now." Ren looked around at everyone with a smile. "From today, the five of us are a team, with a common goal. And we will get there."

"Right," the other three humans said.

"I can't wait," Ann added.

"Looking forward to it, Lady Ann!" Morgana said with a purr.

"Oh yeah. Give me your number and chat ID," Ann said, pulling out her phone. The three nodded, doing the same, and soon Ann was added to the group chat Ryuji had made for them.

Ann noticed the new app on her phone, the Meta-Nav, and asked about it, but they promised to explain later.

"Now you guys are thieves, like me," Morgana said, looking between the four of them. "A real group of Phantom Thieves!"

"Huh? Phantom Thieves?" Ryuji asked. Aurora put a hand on the pin of her lapel.

 _(As in the law breaking kind. But…. I NEED to do this. After all, I became an attorney to help people. And if I can't do that by following the law… then I'll just have to do it the other way.)_ Her lips quirked into a small smile. _(Just like the Yatagarasu,)_ she thought, thinking back to the legendary thief of her home world, who would steal the truth behind corrupt people and businesses the law couldn't touch, and send the evidence to news stations to bring the unjust down.

This felt very similar to what the Yatagarasu of her world did.

"But what about the treasure?" Ren asked, breaking into Aurora's thoughts. "Without one, we can't steal. What should we do?"

"Sheesh. You amateurs," Morgana said in his condescending way, before smirking – a cat smirk looks very strange, by the way. "We need a calling card! If we make him aware that his treasure is going to be stolen, it'll materialize!"

"Oh! Leave this to me!" Ryuji said with a grin.

"Oh no," Ann muttered at that, while Aurora and Ren laughed.

555

That night, after Ren laid in bed and passed out, Aurora pulled out her book. She was exhausted, but she knew there were a lot of things she _had_ to tell the master sorcerer.

 _Master Yen Sid,_

 _I'm sorry if this is sloppier then normal. A lot has happened today, and I am exhausted. First is about Igor. My roommate, a boy named Ren, is apparently having dreams about him, so he's okay. I just… don't understand why he hasn't reached out to me. Maybe it's because I'm not of this world? I don't know…_

 _Second, we DID meet a cat named Morgana who seems to know a lot about the workings of the heart. He's a little rough around the edges, and he's got amnesia, but he seems to really know what he's talking about._

 _Morgana taught us how to heal the distortion in hearts. There's a chance that… the person could die if we do it wrong. And by we, I mean myself and three of my friends, who all have unlocked the power of Persona. We were unsure, but… well, the teacher we're doing this on pushed a student to attempt suicide._

Aurora's pen paused. She was unsure of whether she should add how Kamoshida came onto her. Then she shook her head. _(No. He's probably worried as is. I don't need him to worry about this, too_ ,) she decided.

 _We put our plan into action tomorrow. If this succeeds, his heart will come into balance. Of course, his crimes wont disappear. He'll most likely confess to them._

 _I hope I'm doing the right thing for my training. This FEELS right, though._

Aurora didn't have to wait long for the response.

 _Aurora,_

 _That is odd. I have been unable to contact Igor on my end. Perhaps he is busy…_

 _I am glad you have found a guide. That makes me feel better. As for changing the person's heart, please be careful. I am sorry you had to witness something such as that._

 _Please keep me updated, and please stay safe. I will continue to attempt to contact Igor on my end. Good luck._

Aurora smiled at that, before yawning with a stretch, and laying down to go to sleep.

555

The next day, when Ren and Aurora arrived at school, they noticed that a large crowd had gathered around one of the boards in the main hallway. Ryuji stood at the back of the crowd, a wolf like grin spread across his face.

"I'll go see what it is," Aurora said, slipping through the crowd. Posted to the board where tons of red cards, all with what looked like letters cut from newspapers and magazines, spelling out a message. Aurora managed to grab one, before returning to the boys, where Ann had joined them.

"' _Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust… We know how shitty you are, putting your twisted desires on defenseless students. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.'_ " Aurora looked up at Ryuji, who looked so proud of himself.

"What do you think about my masterpiece?" he asked.

"Oh boy," Aurora sighed in exasperation.

"Meh," Ann muttered at the same time.

"What!?" Ryuji gasped at that.

"It sounds like a dumb kid trying to sound mature," Ann said, taking the card and looking over it herself, before flipping it over to look at the…. logo. It was that of a crudely drawn face wearing a top hat. Underneath was the words 'TAKE YOUR HEART.'

"The logo's a bit lacking, too," Morgana pointed out from where he was sticking out of Ren's bag, looking over his shoulder.

"Th-that ain't true! Right?" Ryuji demanded, looking at Ren. Ren looked over at Ryuji for a moment, before looking away, closing his eyes, not saying a word.

"Hey!" Ryuji pouted, and Aurora couldn't help but laugh at them.

"Wh-what is this!?" an all too familiar voice suddenly cried as the feeling of distortion washed over Aurora. The group looked up to see that their target had spotted the red cards, posted to the board. Kamoshida's head whipped from side to side, before he suddenly grabbed the front of one of the student's shirts. "Did you do this!?" he demanded.

"N-no…" the student stammered, and Kamoshida turned away from him, dropping his shirt, and glaring at another group of students.

"Or was it you? Hey!" he demanded. The students cleared out fast, until the ones standing between the enraged teacher, and Aurora's group, were gone, and Kamoshida saw them. He stalked over.

"Are you brats behind it?" he demanded. His eyes flickered over the four, before landing on Ann.

"Takamaki, you…" he started, trailing off when she wouldn't look at him. "Hah. It's not a problem. You'll be expelled soon enough anyways," he said with a smirk, though Aurora could still see the discomfort under the act.

Suddenly, reality distorted, and the four were looking at the Kamoshida from _the other world._ His smirk was genuine.

"Come… steal it, if you can!" he challenged, and the distortion in his heart seemed to ramp up, sending a shiver through Aurora.

Reality just as suddenly returned to normal, and the teacher stalked back to the boards, ripping the calling cards down. Aurora smiled weakly at that, taking the card still in Ann's hand, and slipping it into her bag.

"We should get to class," she said.

"Yeah. Lay low for today. We'll meet at the hideout after school," Morgana said, and the four of them went their separate ways.

555

School dragged on for an eternity. Aurora focused as much as she could on the lesson, ignoring Makoto, who kept trying to talk to her, as well as the various rumors flying around. Today, however, they were about Kamoshida and the calling card, rather then her or Ren.

As soon as the last bell rang for the day, Aurora grabbed her stuff and ran for the stairs, meeting the others on the roof.

"Judging from Kamoshida's response… I'm sure we had an effect on his Palace," Morgana said once everyone was settled.

"An effect? Ryuji asked.

"You saw, right?" Morgana said, and Aurora nodded.

"Saw, and felt," she said. "The Shadows are going to be on high alert when we go back in," she warned. Morgana nodded.

"That's to be expected, after all," he said in a self-satisfied way. "A group of Phantom Thieves just sent a calling card declaring they're gonna steal his treasure. Any Palace ruler would make sure his guards are on high alert."

"True," Aurora said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, since he _is_ aware, his treasure will appear for the first time," Morgana continued. "Our calling card should make it possible to steal."

"Which will force him to have a change of heart," Ann said softly.

"Right. But the impact of a calling card won't last long," the cat warned.

"There's a time limit?" Ryuji asked.

"The Treasure will appear for a day, at the most. So, until tomorrow morning."

"Then we should get going!" Aurora said, sitting up straighter. Ryuji nodded quickly, seconding that.

"Don't be so hasty," Morgana said, staying sitting. "Like Aurora said, he's more on guard. We probably can't avoid a fight this time. We need to prepare."

"Prepare?" Ren asked.

"Sorry, could I leave that to you guys?" Ann asked, looks at her phone. She looked up with a small smile. "There's somewhere I want to go."

"Alright, then let's meet up later. In the middle of the night, at the school's main entrance," Morgana declared.

"Right," the four of them said. Ann quickly headed off, waving at them, while the boys and Aurora headed towards Central Street, Shibuya.

After walking around a bit, the four of them turned into a shady looking ally, stopping in front of a store. The neon green sign over it declared the name to be _Untouchable_ , oddly enough in English.

"Ooo! What a cool shop!" Morgana cheered, studying it. They stepped in, Morgana disappearing back into the bag, and looked around. Realistic looking guns were displayed everywhere inside, with the exception of a small corner. The boys immediately began looking around, while Aurora moved to that corner.

It was a small section of model weapons from different video games and anime.

"Uh, Morgana, what are we doing here?" she asked, turning towards Ren and the cat.

"You'll find out soon enough," the cat replied, peeking out and looking around. She shrugged and continued to look around, before one of the models caught her eye.

It was labeled as a 'magic gun,' and shaped as though a bunch of diamonds were grafted together, in varying shades of black and red. A ribbon of scarlet red, translucent cloth was formed into a circle using almost invisible clear rods that stuck out from the front of the magic cut. She picked up the box underneath it, studying the information. Apparently, it was a weapon that belonged to Luna, a gun mage from Last Fantasy X.

She glanced at the price, and shook her head.

It was 15,000 yen.

"I think I have that?" she muttered to herself, walking back over to the boys, who had just sent Ryuji to the counter with one of the hand gun models.

"So, why…?" she tried again. Morgana spotted the box in her hands, and nodded.

"Good, I'm glad you picked one. You can use it to defend yourself in the Palace," he said.

"Um, how. It's a fake," Aurora said.

"I'll explain it later. Go pay for it!" he said, sending her over to the counter, where Ryuji was stammering over his words, attempting to haggle for the hand gun. She then looked at the shop owner.

He was definitely rough around the edges, and a little scary looking, but Aurora couldn't sense much distortion about him at all. She shoved the other blond out of the way and smiled, going ahead and paying for her gun. Ryuji wasn't too far behind her, looking kind of depressed.

They next went to a pharmacy, where, thanks to the lack of funds, they winded up buying just a box of band aids as their 'first aid,' before returning back to Lablanc.

As they entered, a woman in punk clothes under a white doctor's coat walked past them. Aurora smiled at her, before slipping past. She stopped Ren on his way, though, checking him out and commenting on his nice a 'test subject' he'd be. Aurora looked back in time to see the doctor hand him a bag of medicine.

"Those meds seem suspicious, but they might be useful…" Morgana meowed from inside Ren's bag.

"Huh?" Sojiro looked around in confusion. "Did you just hear a cat meowing?"

"Uuuuuummmm…. Nope!" Ren said with a weak grin at the man, before quickly heading towards the steps, leading Aurora with him.

"Smooth," she muttered softly to him, only for the boy to rolls his eyes at her. They made it up to the room, finally, and Ren placed the bag down, letting Morgana out.

"If you're gonna talk, at least meow softer," Aurora said, rubbing the top of the cat's head, before he hopped up onto Ren's desk.

"Right. Sorry. Now, one more thing. We need infiltration tools," he said.

"Tools?" both Aurora and Ren asked, and the cat nodded.

"Lock picks, grappling hooks, and smoke bombs. Stuff like that!" he declared. "Come here, I'll show you."

The two sat at the desk and listened to Morgana for a bit, before attempting to make the tools he was talking about.

Of course, it wasn't easy, and both of them were yelled at by Morgana, but they finally figured it out.

Once Sojiro closed up shop for the night, the two of them snuck out, and back to the school.

It was time to end this.

 **A/N** : Okay, guys. Sorry for going MIA. I'm actually about to move out of the country, and was working on getting everything ready for that. I also planned on doing the boss battle this time around… but decided against it, haha. One more chapter to finish off Kamoshida! I'm going to try to update that today!


	6. The Fall of Lust

**A/N:** So I know it seems like Aurora didn't change much yet. I just want to say, she WILL! I PROMISE!

Alright, now ONWARD!

...

Chapter Six: The Fall of Lust

The castle stood, the same as always, in front of the five thieves. However, Aurora wasn't the only one who sensed the spike in security from inside the building as they walked towards it, studying it.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't mean much if they hadn't upped security," Morgana said optimistically, earning a chuckle from the others.

"The debut of the Phantom Thieves, at last," Ryuji muttered. "I'm kind of nervous."

"We even put up a calling card. We can't mess this up," Morgana said.

"Hey, we wont, alright? We'll be fine. Really," Aurora said with a grin, hiding her own nerves.

"Aurora's right," Ann said with a grin, glancing over at her. Aurora smiled back at her.

"Let's do this!" Aurora said with a grin.

"Let's go!" Ren said, adjusting his gloves, before leading the way forward.

The other four followed him as they ran through the castle, keeping to the darkness and avoiding the patrolling Shadows. The only one who seemed to struggle here and there was Ryuji, but he kept quiet and would easily catch back up.

"From here on, let's call each other by code names," Morgana decided as they moved, his voice soft.

"Code names?" Ren asked, glancing back at the cat.

"Phantom Thieves would have to be pretty stupid to use their real names," Morgana replied.

"That makes sense. Too bad I don't have a mask, though," Aurora sighed, brushing her fingers over her exposed face. _(I should have bought that, too,)_ she thought, placing a hand to the magic gun bouncing around at her belt. Unlike the others, she hadn't awoken to a Persona. She was still in her school uniform.

"We'll get that next time," Morgana said, shaking his head. "But for now, we can still give you a code name."

"Right," Aurora said.

"Oh, well, then I'll be 'Skull'!" The newly christened Skull said.

"Skull?" Ann asked.

"I'm wearin' this skull mask, ain't I?" the blond said with a grin.

"Alright! Then I'll be…" Morgana started, then trailed off.

"Wouldn't 'Mona' be good?" Ren suggested.

"That's too short!" the cat hissed.

"I like it! It's kind of cute!" Ann put in with a grin, and Aurora had to nod in agreement.

"Like you," she added.

"Well…. If you say so, Lady Ann…" the cat agreed, and Aurora rolled her eyes.

"So, what about me?" Ann asked.

"Well, with that outfit…" Skull started, only for Aurora to shove his face to the side.

"No. Don't go there," she said, and Skull pouted at her, while Ren and Mona snickered.

"Cat girl?" Ren suggested.

"No way!" Ann snapped.

"What about Panther?" Aurora suggested, and the girl in red looked at her, thinking it over for a moment.

"Yeah, I like it! 'Panther' is fine!" Panther agreed.

"Well, what about you?" Ren asked, looking at Aurora. "I can't think of anything right now…"

"Seer," Aurora suggested, touching the pink ribbon wrapped around her wrist.

"'Seer'?" Skull asked.

"Yeah, since I can sense the Shadows. And see into hearts, even outside of the Metaverse."

"That makes sense!" Panther said with a smile.

"That leaves you," Mona said, looking at Ren.

"Hm, maybe 'Go-Go Mask'?" Ren suggested.

"Where'd you get that? You've lost interest, haven't you?" Mona snapped, while Seer and Panther laughed. Skull simply shook his head.

"Do you have any ideas?" Panther asked, looking at Skull and Seer.

"Not really," Skull said, while Seer shrugged.

"Fine, we'll come back to that. We're almost there," Mona said as the group finished climbing the spiral steps of the tower.

Unlike the first time they made it through the castle, there were traps engaged this time. For instance, a bridge they crossed before was suddenly blocked off by large blades swinging back and forth over it.

"Seriously…? The treasure's up ahead, but this is like an impossible video game!" Skull whined.

"No video game is impossible," Seer said, looking around. "There's probably a way to bypass them, or stop them all together… aha!" she backed up and looked at a statue next to the door. It was a bust of Kamoshida, with one glowing eye, and one empty socket.

"It requires a special key," Mona said. "Which means we need to find the one who has it."

The group backtracked a little through the castle, until the spotted a Shadow in Gold Armor, who had a key clutched in his left hand.

A plan to distract the Shadow was quickly decided, and Panther slipped around the corner, using her body to its full potential.

Of course, the Shadow quickly chased her. Ann quickly rounded the corner, where Skull waited.

As soon as the Shadow rounded the corner, Skull slammed his lead pipe right across the creature's face, knocking it out cold.

Or at least… that's what they thought. Almost immediately, the gold armor melted into red and black light, forming into a Pixie.

"What the hell was that for? Thugs! Ruffians! Brutes!" she snarled, her hands on her hips.

"Whoa, she talks!" Skull gasped, voicing all of their surprise (except perhaps Mona).

"And she's a girl! I didn't need to use sex appeal!" Panther gasped.

"Well, we can't just assume that," Seer pointed out, and Panther looked over at her, before nodded, conceding her point.

Ren shrugged and pointed his gun at the fairy. Seer, following his lead, pointed her own gun as well.

"Wh-what? Those aren't real, are they?" the Pixie demanded, the anger fading to fear on her face. "Well, if you think you have a chance, do your worse!"

"Give us the key," Ren demanded.

"The key? Oh, is that what you want?" she asked, seeming to relax a little. "Fine. I'll give it to you." It appeared in her hand, which she threw at Ren, who caught it easily. "Satisfied? Then get lost." Her eyes cut over to Skull. "Just looking at you creeps pisses me off."

"Ugh, what a nasty mouth," Skull sighed as Ren and Seer lowered their guns. "Hey, let's get goin'."

"Yeah," Ren said, before looking up at the Pixie. "Thank you."

The Pixie gasped, a blush coming over her face as she looked at Ren. "Hey, what the…. you're throwing me off my game," she complained, before closing her eyes with a small smile. "But maybe it's not so bad…" She suddenly glowed with a white light, and gasped again. "Something's happening!" she exclaimed, before looking down, eyes wide. "That's right. I remember. I don't just belong to King Kamoshida. I drift about the sea of the human heart. My name is Pixie! From now on, I'll live within you!" With those words, she turned into a ball of light, that formed into the shape of a mask. Without warning, it shot forward and slammed into Ren's face. He raised his hand to stop it, but it went right through it, the light absorbing into the mask on his face.

"What was that?" Skull asked.

"I have no idea…" Mona admitted.

"Are you okay?" Seer demanded, moving to in front of the boy. The way Ren's heart suddenly…. Morphed, as though turning into a new one, scared her. It wasn't distorted at all, but it was different from the way it felt when he'd awoken Arsene. His own eyes were wide, and as he looked up at her, she could see they were fading from red back to the dark gray they normally were.

"I'm okay," he said, smiling at her. She hesitated, before nodding, letting him lead the way again. As she followed him back to the bridge, she chanced closing her eyes.

What she was sensing was real. Ren's heart _had_ changed. Instead of Arsene representing his heart, it was now the Pixie they had just met. But… now that she was focused on it, she could see that his heart was different from, for example, Skull's. Captain Kidd represented Skull's heart, and that was it. But behind the Pixie that represented Ren's heart, there was a silhouette of his previous Persona, Arsene.

 _(Persona's represent the person's heart in this world. Does that mean… he can change his heart, depending on his Persona? Odd…)_

They reached the bridge finally, and Ren inserted the key. The blades that had been swinging over the bridge stopped, slowly moving to the sides of the room and letting the thieves pass.

A few moments later, they _finally_ reached the treasure room.

"Whoa…" Seer muttered.

"It really did appear!" Skull gasped.

"This is Kamoshida's Treasure," Ren said, stepping forward.

"Man, it's huge!" Skull cried.

He… wasn't wrong. Floating before them, where the light had been just yesterday, was a huge, golden and bejeweled crown.

"We have to take this out of here!?" Panther demanded.

"Well, that is the definition of stealing," Seer pointed out, studying it, trying to figure out the logistics of carrying that back through the palace.

"T-Treasure!" Mona suddenly shot past them, and _lunged_ towards the crown, like it was full of catnip or something.

"Go-go, let's go, Kamoshida!" a familiar voice suddenly cheered from behind, and the man in question suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the crown before Mona could land on it.

"Yeah!" he cheered as he landed, holding it, while Mona hit the ground. He then quickly moved from the treasury to the throne room below it.

"Kamoshida," Skull snarled as the thieves caught up to him. Seer tried to ignore the 'pillars' that were made from a woman's torso, from the neck to the very tops of the legs, and glared at the Shadow in front of them.

"This proves that I am king of this castle," Kamoshida said, standing, holding up the crown. "It is the core of this world!" He turned to face them, putting the oversized crown. "I won't let anyone take it!"

"Oh, Sensei!" the same familiar voice cried as the fake Ann ran to his side, dressed sluttily as ever.

"You show them!" another voice said, as another figure ran to his other side. Seer's blood ran cold.

It was… her. But dressed in a string bikini, much like the fake Ann. The only difference was, this fake Aurora's bikini was red, white, and blue, like the American flag, and instead of cat ears, she was wearing a pair of white bunny ears. She leaned against Kamoshida's other side, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Whoa, dude…" Skull said, glancing between the two girls. Panther's eyes were on fire, but Seer's…. it was clear to see the hurricane that erupted just below the surface.

"Your face is so scary, but I'm shivering with excitement!" Cognitive-Ann said, while Cognitive-Aurora nuzzled her face against his arm.

"I can't wait to see you shed their blood," she said excitedly.

 _(And there's the 'all American's are violent' stereotype,)_ Seer thought, gripping her gun tightly.

Her anger was growing worse with every minute that passed, and she wanted nothing more then to shoot the Cognitive version of herself, as well as the Shadow.

"Oh you two. Don't be impatient," he said, looking between the two. "You can share me later," he added with a blush.

"THAT'S IT!" Seer snapped, raising her gun. Ren's eyes widened, and he managed to grab her arms, pulling them back down.

"Not yet," he said, looking over at the man. "There's more to this then meets the eye," he warned. Seer ground her teeth together, but listened to him, realizing he had a clearer mind then she did at the moment.

"So, this is how he sees us," Panther snarled, sharing in Seer's sentiments.

"Yeah. It's how he thought of both of you, without regarding your feelings," Mona replied.

"You're disgusting!" Panther snarled, her anger flaring into a wild fire. "If you think you can get away with anything, you're sorely mistaken!"

"Hah! You've got the wrong idea about me."

"The wrong idea? How so?" Panther demanded.

"The students around me are the ones who set the stage," the man explained. He reached the arm that was wrapped around Cognitive-Aurora towards the crown, which shrunk down to a normal size, and placed it on his head. "Students who wished to bask in my accomplishments, coming to me by their own violation! There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that!" Red and black light surrounded him, and the two Cognitive girls quickly back up, out of the way. "Including naïve brats like you and that girl who jumped off the roof!"

Panther frowned, making a soft, pained noise in the back of her throat.

"Crap. I don't like where this is going…" Skull muttered.

"Seer, back up," Ren said, moving to stand in front of the girl.

"Right," she said, doing so, gripping her Magic Gun tightly.

"I'm a cut above the rest! I'm not like other humans!"

Suddenly, he began to morph, his face becoming more monstrous, his skin turning to a shade of inhumane pink. His body swelled to a huge size, causing him to tower over the thieves.

"You're right," Mona said. "Right now, you're no longer human. You're possessed by twisted desire."

"You're a demon," Ren said, watching as Kamoshida changed.

The final result of his changes was a monster that sat on the floor with four arms, horns, and a purple sickly tongue that was way too long for his mouth. In his lower hands were a pair of golden eating utensils, while in his upper hands was a riding crop and a glass of red wine. In the wine were the Cognitive versions of Ann and Aurora. On top of his head was his treasure, the crown. In front of him was a golden trophy with a bunch of legs sticking out of it..

"That's right! I'm going to rule this world! As a demon!"

The fight was rough. Despite Mona being on healing, and Aurora shooting at him from afar, the group struggled with fighting Kamoshida. It didn't help that the demon would drink from his wine glass, constantly making himself stronger.

Then Kamoshida started launching oversized volleyballs at the group, making everything that much worse.

"Ugh!" Skull cried as he hit the ground, before looking up. "He's way stronger like this!"

"Do it again, Sensei!" Cognitive-Ann cheered from the glass.

"Yeah, show them who's boss!" Cognitive-Aurora added.

"I know, but first, I need to increase my vitality!" Kamoshida said, before gulping down more wine, getting Cognitive-Aurora in his mouth as well.

"Ugh, gross!" Seer complained, shooting at the demon again. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to effect him all that much.

"This is bad," Mona said to Ren, while Panther, in her disgust, went on the offense with her whip.

"Everyone, to me!" Ren called, before taking something out of his pocket and throwing it to the ground. A thick white smoke filled the area, giving the thieves the time they needed to join Ren and find a hiding spot.

"Where are you? Where'd you go?" the deamon demanded, looking around.

"Remember, we're only after the Treasure," Mona said, looking between the four humans. "Look! We can steal it from over there!" he pointed to a balcony near the demon's head as the smoke began to disperse.

"But that's impossible. We'll just…" Panther started, right before a volleyball rocketed towards their hiding spot.

"Let me do it," Seer said, and everyone looked over at her.

"Seer?" Ren asked.

"You guys are able to distract him a lot easier then I am. Honestly, I'm not doing anything but getting in the way. So let me. I can do this," she said. Mona grinned.

"Makes sense to me," he said. The other's nodded.

"Be careful," Ren said.

"You got this, Seer!" Skull cheered.

"We're counting on you," Panther added with a warm smile. Seer nodded to the four of them, pushing her gun into her belt, and standing.

"Let's do this," she said.

Another volleyball hit the ground just outside of their hiding spot, and the other four got into position, just as the smoke cleared.

"Finally showing yourselves, huh?" Kamoshida demanded, before frowning. "Huh? Where's Wright?"

"We sent her away. Without our abilities, she'd only get hurt. It was the safest option for her, really," Ren said, glaring at the demon in front of them. Seer, who was bust climbing up one of the 'pillars,' scowled at that.

 _(I might not have a Persona, but I can do this, too_ ,) she thought to herself, pulling herself up even more.

"The four of us are _more_ than enough to take down a creep like you!" Panther declared, readying her whip. " _Carmen!"_ she cried, and her Persona appeared behind her, sending flames at the demon.

"And Zorro!" Mona yelled, the black clad Persona appearing in a huge gust of wind.

"Go, Captain Kidd!" Skull grinned as the pirate Persona appeared, lightning raining down around them.

"Arsene!" Ren yelled, and the winged Persona appeared, surrounded but red and black light.

All four spells hit the demon at the same time, causing a lot of damage to him, but not enough to bring him down.

"Bastards! How dare you!?" Kamoshida yelled, before stabbing his fork into the trophy in front of him, spearing a pair of the legs, and eating it. After another moment, green light flashed around him, and the burns, bruises, and curse marks vanished from his magenta-colored skin. "How refreshing!" He cheered, before lashing his tongue at Panther, who was hit and sent backwards, and Mona, who jumped back. The cat instantly cast Dia on the red-clad girl.

"Disgusting," Seer hissed, having reached the balcony. She hesitated, however, worried about attempted to steal the crown while he could heal himself.

"Looks like we have to break that thing first," Mona hissed, glaring at the cup, before suddenly pulling out an oversized sling-shot, aiming and hitting the cup.

"Hey! You don't know how much this is worth!" Kamoshida yelled. "It's a national championship trophy!" Seer smirked, noticing a slight crack appearing in the metal. She wasn't the only one who noticed it. Mona quickly turned to Ren.

"Hey, you shoot at it, too!" he demanded. Ren nodded, aiming his gun at the trophy as well.

"Where did you get that?" Kamoshida demanded. "Stop, don't shoot!"

Ren didn't listen, and pulled the trigger. It was a bull's eye, as the all-too-real bullet slammed into the cup, causing it to explode into a million pieces. Ren's eyes widened as he looked at the gun, before thinking about how Seer's weapon worked, too.

"Told you, this is the cognitive world. If he perceives it as a weapon, it becomes the real thing. That's why Seer's gun worked, too," Mona explained.

"What did you do, you bastard!?" Kamoshida howled in agony, before taking a gulp of his wine. "Fine then. Experience the killshot, feared by the whole world!"

Kamoshida actually stood up, a new volleyball appearing in his hands. He threw it into the air, where it glowed with a golden light. "Gold Medal Attack!" he yelled as he jumped into the air and spiked the ball hard towards the group of thieves on the ground.

The impact was stunning. It was a literal explosion, throwing those four back.

"Guys!" Seer gasped, gripping the railing.

Once the smoke cleared she could see that those four were on the ground. Ren was starting to push himself up, gritting his teeth in pain, but it was slow.

"Let's do it again!" Kamoshida yelled in glee, summoning another volleyball.

( _NO!)_ Seer thought, frantically trying to get into position.

"Go-go, Kamoshida!" Cognitive-Ann and -Aurora cheered.

"It's over, you delinquents!" Kamoshida said, tossing the ball into the air.

"NO!" Seer gasped, knowing she wouldn't be fast enough. She looked back towards Ren, only to see him hit the ground. Her blood turned to ice. _(Is it over!?)_

Ren's heart morphed, just like before, with Pixie. Blue flames suddenly erupted from around him, and he surged to his knees, ripping his mask off, his eyes burning yellow.

"PERSONA!" he yelled, and from the blue flames appeared a new being, this one some kind of creature in a jar, which blocked the killshot.

"What!?" Kamoshida gasped as he landed.

"Yes!" Seer hissed with a grin, before moving more securely into position.

"A new Persona!?" Mona, who had pushed himself up, gasped. "So, he's a human that can use multiple Personas? What… is he?"

Ren's eyes faded back to their normal dark gray, and he turned a dark glare onto the demon in front of them. "Take this!" he snapped, and his new Persona cast a powerful curse spell, surrounding Kamoshida in red and black light. Seer smirked, seeing her chance.

"That's mine!" she yelled, diving forward while Kamoshida was still reeling from the attack.

She managed to grab the crown, yanking it off of the demon's head, but the weight of it, plus gravity, cause it to slip from her fingers. She hit the ground and rolled to her feet as Kamoshida dropped his wine, causing the cheering Cognitive girls to fade from existence.

The crown glowed for a moment, before shrinking, becoming a much more manageable size.

"The symbol of my kingship!" Kamoshida cried, stretching for it.

"Heh, checkmate!" Ren snapped, aiming his gun at the demon, before nodding to the others. The four Persona users launched an all out attack, one that Seer was able to participate in by shooting the demon whenever there was an opening. Kamoshida was still up when the finished, but not for long. Ren summoned his new Persona once more and cast the same curse spell, finishing him off.

Or, so they thought. The demon turned back into man, who made a run for it, only to find a dead end at the open door onto the balcony.

"Right now, you're seeing the same view that Shiho did," Panther said, her voice simmering with the flames of anger. "You're cornered. There's nowhere to run. And you're facing the same view…"

"They forced their expectations on me… I-I was desperate, too!" Kamoshida said as he turned to them, his voice pleading.

"That's no excuse!" Seer snarled, her emotions a raging storm in her eyes. "You used the students as playthings and outlets for your anger… it's despicable!"

"They're right. Don't even try to justify yourself!" Skull added angrily.

Just then, Carmen appeared behind Panther. "Will you jump? Or would you rather die here?" Panther demanded, her eyes narrowed as flames appeared over Carmen's hand.

"D-don't! Please stop!" Kamoshida pleaded.

"I sad the same to you!" Seer yelled, her gun pointed at the man. "But you didn't! If she hadn't come around the corner…"

Panther glanced at Seer, and nodded. "You… you took everything from your 'slaves' without hesitation. You gave in to your selfish desires." Flames shot past the man's head, missing him by less then an inch.

Kamoshida fell to his knees, looking down.

"If we finish you off here, we won't be able to prove your crimes," Panther said, desummoning Carmen and bringing Seer back to her senses. She slowly lowered her gun, glaring at the ground. "So instead, you'll admit to them," Panther demanded. "And spend a long time atoning for them. All the while, experiencing the agony the others went through."

Kamoshida looked up at the group for a few moments, acceptance finally coming over his face. "I've lost," he said, before falling forward, onto his arms. "I'll return… to my real self. And I swear…" Tears ran down the man's face as he began to glow with a golden light, before vanishing completely.

As soon as he vanished, the Castle began to shake around them.

"Uh-oh… hey, we gotta run!" Skull announced, turning and darting out, grabbing Mona on the way, who was meowing and rubbing against the crown. Ren grabbed the crown and quickly followed. Panther was still staring at the window where Kamoshida had vanished, not seeming to notice the collapsing castle around them.

"Panther, c'mon!" Seer said, grabbing the girl's arm. She quickly looked over, before nodding.

"Right," she said, and the five thieves took off through the castle, running at top speed.

The shaking grew worse as the Castle began to literally collapse around them, forcing them to dodge the debris that fell towards them. About halfway through, Panther glanced back at the collapsing hall behind them.

"We're gonna die! We're so gonna die!" she cried in fear.

"No, where not! Just keep running!" Seer yelled at her, covering her own fear. After all, she's been in worse things then this, right?

Just then, Mona, who had been dropped by Skull a bit back, jumped up onto Seer's head, before jumping from her to Panther.

"Hey, what the~!?" Panther gasped, only for Mona to jump to Skull's head, then Ren's shoulder.

"No fair, you jerk!" Skull yelled at the cat, who turned and meowed at them, confusing all three of them. They didn't have long to think on it, before Skull's leg gave out, and he hit the ground.

"Ryuji!" Panther gasped, and Seer started back to help him.

"Heh… it's been a while, so I just tripped, is all," Skull said, waving them off and starting to get up again.

The ceiling suddenly rumbled over them, then it all began to collapse towards them, prompting Skull to get to his feet a lot faster, and the four humans to pick up their speed, until finally, they reached the entrance, collapsing to the ground in the alleyway, back in the real world.

"That…. sucked…." Aurora panted, leaning against the wall.

"You said it," Ren agreed, panting as well. Ryuji sat on the ground, rubbing his bad leg unconsciously.

"Woulda been nice to know _that_ was gonna happen," he said with an accusing look at Morgana.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know… this was my first success, too," he admitted.

"Right…" Ryuji scowled.

"All that matters is that we're safe, and we have the treasure… right?" Aurora asked, looking at Ren, who grinned and pulled a medal from his pocket.

"A Medal? What happened to the crown?" Ann demanded.

"It must have changed, just like Morgana and you guys do," Aurora said.

"And a gold medal was the source of his distortions," Morgana said, shaking his head.

"Pfft. The bastard was clinging to his past glory days," Ryuji said, standing and crossing his arms with a scowl.

"Figures. So, how do we know this worked?" Ren asked, looking at the cat.

"Well… we just have to wait," Morgana said, getting sighs from the four humans. "But we did some good work. We all deserve some rest."

"He's right," Ren said, pocketing the medal again and looking between everyone. we'll see you at school tomorrow, alright?"

"Aight," Ryuji said with a grin.

"Good night," Ann added, smiling herself, and those two went their separate ways, while Ren and Aurora returned to Lablanc for the night.

...

A week went by. Kamoshida put himself on suspension, which raised plenty of eyebrows with the other students, but made the Phantom Thieves uneasy.

Everyone got their answers at the assembly a week after they stole the treasure.

"Much has happened recently," the principle was saying from where he stood on stage. Aurora had slipped through the crowd to join Ann, who she had grown very close to in the week, while Ren and Ryuji stood off to the side. They felt if all four of them stood together, things would start to look a little suspicious. "I know you're all nervous and even confused at time," the principle continued, not hearing the rumors that were spreading about the PE teacher. "But it's during times like these that you need to remain calm and go back to orderly school li~"

Just then, the doors opened, the creak of them gaining everyone's attention.

Kamoshida stood there, looking down. He didn't look sickly or like he had a mental shutdown, but…. There was obviously something on his mind.

"Mr. Kamoshida?" the principle asked.

"I have…. Repeatedly done things that were unbecoming of a teacher," the man announced. "Verbally abusing students, physically abusing my team… and sexually abusing female students." There were a lot of gasps from the students, and Ann and Aurora moved closer together, both victims of his abuse. "I am the reason why Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself! I am an arrogant, shallow, and shameful person. No… I'm worse than that!"

The man fell to his hands and knees, pressing his forehead against the floor as tears rolled down his face. "I will apologize by killing myself!"

"What!?" Aurora gasped.

"Mr. Kamoshida! Calm down!" the principle gasped, while the students talked among each other, trying to figure out what all of this meant. Two teachers grabbed Kamoshida's arms, pulling him back up to his feet.

"I…"

"Don't run!" Ann suddenly yelled, and the auditorium grew silent as everyone turned to look at her. "Before she jumped, there was a lot that Shiho pretended not to see. We all have to keep living in a life full of regrets. You have no right to run from this!" Ann yelled, fire in her eyes as she glared at the man. Kamoshida looked at her for a moment, before looking down slightly.

"You're right… you're absolutely right…" he looked down for a moment, before looking at Ann again. "I should be punished under the law and atone for my crimes," he said, his words echoing the ones Ann had told his shadow in the palace. "I'll turn myself in and confess. Please call the police!" he begged, turning to one of the teachers at his side.

"This is just like what that calling card said…" a student whispered.

"The Phantom Thieves of Hearts thing was real?" another student muttered.

Aurora, on the other hand, was staring at Kamoshida in amazement.

The distortion… was gone. Completely. And when she closed her eyes… yes. It was just Kamoshida, exactly as he is now, staring back at her.

They did it. They changed his heart without causing a mental shutdown.

They won.

…

That night, at Lablanc, Aurora sat on her bed, writing down everything that happened for Master Yen Sid. Her phone sat next to her, on vibrate. It was on, the group chat showing, since it was pretty active right now between the other three.

"If you return the Shadow to the real-life person before it dies, the person won't have a mental shutdown," Morgana said with a smile. "That was proved to us this time."

"Which means we have to be careful if one confronts us, like Kamoshida did. We don't want to accidently kill them," Aurora said, finishing her note to Master Yen Sid, and picking up her phone, replying in the group chat.

' _The distortion was gone from his heart. I could sense and see that much. All in all, it was a successful job! :)'_ she sent.

' _Yes!'_ That was from Ryuji.

Ann: _'Also, listen to this!'_

Ryuji: ' _What is it?'_

Ann: ' _Shiho has regained consciousness!'_

Both Aurora and Ren quickly sat up in their beds, sharing a grin with each other, before Aurora quickly turned back to her phone.

Aurora: _'That's great! I'm sure she'll love to hear this news, too!'_

Ann: _'She did. I told her exactly what happened at the assembly today. She was so happy to hear it.'_

Ren: _'That's great. I hope it helps her recovery_.'

Ren smiled and laid his phone down, shaking his head.

"All's well that ends well, eh?" Morgana asked, sitting next to Ren on his bed. "I honestly have new respect for both of you. Aurora, you ability is amazing, and you don't even have a Persona! And you…" he turned to look at Ren, a sly smirk on his face. "You've become our wild card… 'Joker'."

"'Joker'?" Ren asked, looking curiously at the cat. Aurora glanced over to, a slow smile crossing her face. She could guess what that was.

"Your code name. We put it on hold, remember? I chose that because it seems you've got something," Morgana said.

"And in any card game, the Joker card tends to be the wild card?" Aurora asked with a grin. Morgana looked over at her and nodded.

"Exactly." He looked between the two. "But a rookie's still a rookie. You two have still got a ways to go as phantom thieves." Morgana hopped down, off the bed, and stretched his legs. "So I'll stay here and continue to train you right."

"I knew I heard annoying meowing," Sojiro's voice suddenly said from the stairs, causing all three of them to look up. "You bought home a stray?"

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Sakura. We just… found him, and he was abandoned and all alone," Aurora said, widening her eyes slightly in a pleading look. The man looked at her, then over at Morgana, his face softening.

"How sad. Well, alright. So, what's its name?" he asked.

"Morgana," Ren said, glancing over at the spiky haired girl, surprised she was able to soften the gruff man.

"Oh." Sojiro turned away, rubbing the back of his neck. "And here I was gonna offer to name it…" he muttered. Aurora looked away, attempting to hid her grin as the man started downstairs. "I should have some leftovers. Hold on," he called up, and Morgana let out a happy meow. Aurora and Ren looked over at each other, before they both relaxed, relieved the man wasn't angry for bringing Morgana home without permission.

It was going to be an interesting year…

...

 **A/N** : And here we go! I did add a scene from the game, because I felt the jump between them getting the treasure, and the assembly to be a little abrupt.

Alright, I think that's everything here! ONWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	7. Bonds

**A/N:** Alright guys, this will be a short chapter. Just a bit of Ren and Aurora getting to know each other more, you know? Considering they ARE roommates, but have barely had time to.

Here we go!

…

Chapter Seven: Bonds

Right after the assembly, Shujin Academy had a week off for some holiday (Golden Week? Maybe? Aurora couldn't keep up with the different holidays from all the different worlds). The thieves decided to do have a celebration meal at an expensive buffet on the last day of the holiday vacation, after selling the medal, of course.

All that week, though, during the day, Aurora and Ren helped out in Lablanc. It was on the second night, however, that the two decided to go for a walk, just to explore the streets of Yongen-Jaya. It was the first chance they got where they hadn't been in the Metaverse during the day.

"It's so quiet back here, compared to Shibuya," Aurora mused.

"Seriously. A bit like my home town, really," Ren mused, looking around. "It's… comforting."

"I take it you come from a smaller town?" Aurora asked, and the boy nodded with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Tokyo is a little intimidating," he admitted. Aurora laughed.

"And that's before you add the Metaverse," she joked, causing the boy to laugh as well. It lasted only for a moment, before he looked down.

"Aurora? Why did you transfer here? I mean, if you don't mind me asking. Sojiro made it sound… bad."

"Well…" she sighed, thankful she had _some_ acting skills. "I'm here until they finish investigating back home."

"Investigating?" Ren asked.

"About a year or so ago, I was… kidnapped, by a cult," she said. "They had taken my brother, too, five years earlier." She kept it vague. Honestly, she felt bad lying to him, but knew she couldn't exactly tell the truth. Ren's eyes were huge.

"That's why Sojiro told you to not go anywhere alone," he said. Aurora nodded.

"Yeah. And until they catch them, being here is for my protection," she explained. Ren nodded, before clasping her shoulder.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said. Aurora shook her head with a small smile.

"It's okay. So, um, can I ask about you? I know you have that record for assault, but…" she trailed off as Ren scowled.

"It's complete bullshit, really," he said in a harder voice then she was used to from him. Usually, Ren was either quiet and soft spoken, or joking around. In the Metaverse, he was all business, but still had a sense of humor. But… this side of him was new. "I was walking home at night when I heard fighting. I went to check it out, and found some bastard harassing a woman. I stepped in to try to stop it, and pushed the man. He fell and slammed his head into a guard rail." Ren shook his head. "And he sued me with assault. Even got the woman in on it."

He sighed, seeming to deflate slightly. "I got arrested, expelled, and basically thrown out like trash because I tried to help someone. But you know what? I also don't regret it." He looked at Aurora. "I don't regret trying to help her, because… if I hadn't, who would have?"

"Right. That makes sense. There are just… not enough good people in this world," Aurora agreed sadly. Ren got a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well, there are good people. Just… not all of them are brave enough to stand against adversary," Ren said. Aurora thought about his words, and smiled, nodding.

"You're probably right," she said. Ren chuckled at that, before stopping in front of the second hand shop. It was still open for another half-hour, and an old T.V. seemed to catch his eyes.

"Wanna get it for our room?" he asked. Aurora grinned and pointed to an old game system.

"Only if we get that, too," she bargained.

"Deal," Ren said with a grin, and the two entered the shop.

* * *

 _RANK UP!_

 _Aurora Wright_

 _Aeon Arcana Rank 2_

* * *

…

 **A/N:** Just a short little chapter. Honestly, I feel like Ren is a lot more angry then he shows in the game OR the anime at his situation. He IS just, what, 15, 16 at this point? Who WOULDN'T be angry…

So, I plan on showing that through out the story!


	8. AUTHOR NOTE

Author's Note

Hey guys. So I finally got to finish playing _Kingdom Hearts 3_ , and oh boy…

I might have to go back and change… a lot. Which means, I might end up deleting these stories, and restarting the _Turnabout Hearts_ series… I'll keep you updated if I decide to do that.

Sorry!


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